


The Magic of Second Chances

by cursedtobeshortforever



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Fix-It, Fluff, Multi, i dont know how to tag this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 55,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25826863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cursedtobeshortforever/pseuds/cursedtobeshortforever
Summary: What would have happened if Entrapta was taken to Prime's ship? What would have happened if Catra had to work with the rebellion to fix her mistakes? Here's my take on it.Edit: I'm going to edit this fic as it goes since some of these scenes don't satisfy me. If you're rereading my fic and see some changes, then your mind is not playing tricks on you. I hope you can accept my apologies for the changes. I'm obviously not a professional.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 84
Kudos: 231





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Warning! This work doesn't have a beta reader because I was too nervous to ask for help. Please don't hate me if you find some grammar mistakes.

Glimmer let out a soft grunt, slowly opening her eyes to the bright lights. She took in her surroundings, but she couldn't tell what kind of room she was in or where she even was. She noticed the rubbles around them from the Fright Zone, the room's wideness and emptiness, and the weird-looking throne in the middle. She tried to pull sparks from her hands, but nothing came. Huh?

"Is that you, little brother?" A calm and slick male voice came from the center of the room. Glimmer turned her head to the throne; it's back was facing them. As he turned, Glimmer let a small gasp, not bothering to hide her horror. That man looked monstrous, with white skin, metal tentacles for hair, two extra eyes, one under his left eye, and the other above it. The color of his eyes was pure green with cat-like pupils. Glimmer didn't like how green they were. It was almost unnatural. "I thought you had perished," he added, looking straight at Hordak. The two men standing next to the man on the throne, looking like the white and green version of Hordak, said nothing. Hordak raised his head as he spoke up.

"I was pulled into a shadow dimension. All this time, I've been trying to return to your side. But it was not in vain. I have built an empire in your name," he said, desperation slipping into his voice. Glimmer continued to sit on the ground while trying to take all the information in. The way Hordak talked to this alien, it almost sounded familiar. Glimmer didn't like that at all.

"I received your transmission, but I could not determine it's source," the alien said with a frown. He let a grin as he lifted his index finger. He continued to talk as a hologram of a green ball with a red center came up, and all the nerves fell to Glimmer's stomach. "Until I detected an energy reading like nothing I have ever seen before. And when I arrived, this curious planet appeared." Glimmer looked horrified at her realization. She was the person who led them here. She is the reason why Etheria is doomed. _What have I done?_

Hordak tried to speak up again. "I conquered this world for you. To show you that I am worthy, so that I may retake my place at your side." The alien didn't look impressed at his words, but that didn't stop Hordak from continuing. "I have bent it's people to my will."

The alien rose from his chair, and his two attendants took it as a cue to leave. " 'To _your_ will,' " he repeated in a chilling tone, and Glimmer almost gulped out loud. It sounded ten times worse than her mother's own calm and angry tone. Hordak looked as if he realized whatever mistake he made. The alien walked down from his throne to Hordak, kneeling in front of him to be eye to eye. "Why can't I see your thought?" He asked as he cupped Hordak's cheeks. Hordak looked like he was in pain for a second, only to look confused. The alien closed his eyes, looking as if he can actually read minds. Glimmer went into a panic. _Will he able to read my mind too?_

"I see now," the alien said as he opened his eyes, "you have given yourself a name. You tried to create an empire of your own." He stroked Hordak's armor, specifically where it looked as if there is a missing piece. "There was even a time you wished I would not come for you, is that so?" Hordak started to shake his head frantically. 

"No, brother," Hordak pleaded, eyes wide with fear. Glimmer was confused now. Why is Hordak afraid of someone he said is his brother? What kind of life Hordak had here? "I did it, all of it, for you." The alien's hands left Hordak's face, leaving him with a vulnerable look. Glimmer hated it. He was supposed to look like the monster that killed her father, not someone with his own past, personal struggles, or something to lose.

The alien hands returned to Hordak's face, this time violently grabbing it with more strength. "You have forgotten who you are. You truly think you are worthy to stand beside me, could be equal to me?" His voice was terrifying, sounding as if he hasn't heard a bigger insult in his life. Glimmer was getting more scared by the minute. The alien picked Hordak by the throat, lifting him off that ground with ease. Glimmer almost screamed. 

"I made you in my image, but you have become an abomination," the alien yelled like a maniac, "and so you must be reborn!" Tentacles flew from the alien's head and straight into Hordak's ports. Hordak let out an agonizing scream, his body falling unconscious to the ground after they finally stopped. Glimmer got closer to Hordak to see what the alien did. His eyes turned green, and his expression was black. She was going to throw up. If this alien treated his own brother like this, what hope does Glimmer have?

The alien's two attendants came back after Hordak's collapse. "Take him to reconditioned." The two attendants bowed before the alien as he ordered them, taking Hordak out of the room. Glimmer let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Oh, how she would do anything to teleport out of this room.

"But I have been rude," the alien said before turning to face Glimmer. "We have a guest. Royalty, if I'm not mistaken." He reached to help Glimmer stand, his demeanor changing from threatening to creepily pleasance. Glimmer took his hand out of fear. "I apologize for my little brother. His actions are an embarrassment. I desire only peace and order."

"Then you'll leave us alone?" Glimmer asked, hopefully. _Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes._

The alien let out a cruel laugh before getting serious again. "Oh, no, child. I cannot let words spread of my brother's botched conquest." The last bit of hope Glimmer had turned to dust. She walked backward in fear, trying to make some distance between them as he proceeded. "For order to thrive, this whole mess must be wiped away." A hand reached to her face. "Beginning with you."

Glimmer closed her eyes in fear as he cupped her left cheek, waiting for something terrible to happen. Instead of hurting her, his hand left her face. She opened her eyes in confusion. "Unless our new guest has anything to say about it."

Glimmer was confused by his words until she heard a 'woosh' sound next to her. There stood Entrapta, with a new mask that looked like the head of an ant and dirtier clothes. She looked even more disoriented than Glimmer felt. Entrapta looked around the room in wonder until she met the alien's eyes. Her expression went from excitement to muted.

"You're Horde Prime, aren't you?" Entrapta asked, looking as if she's analyzing another one of her robots.

"Indeed I am," Horde Prime answered, "and this is the Velvet Glove. I am sure my little brother has told you about it. He had a lot of memories of you. Most of them being most particular."

"'Little brother'?" Entrapta's eyebrows rose in realization. "OH! You're talking about Hordak! Where is he? Is he okay? We had a bad misunderstanding before I was sent to Beast Island that I have to clear up!" Glimmer's chest grew warm with anger. Entrapta should be smarter than to care for a monster.

Horde Prime simply smirked. "My dear little brother has made some great errors that he must repent for and will soon reunite with you. However, I would like to talk about you, my dear." He continued before Entrapta can ask more questions. "You see, as I looked into my brother's memories, I saw you and your mechanical brilliance. How you boosted the firepower of every machine you touched, how you were able to analyze the First One's relics without any hardships. So I find you to be very valuable to me. If you can show me proof of your intelligence and give me good reasoning as to why I should spare the little queen and her planet, I will do so."

Entrapta looked at Glimmer, looking more scared than Glimmer has ever seen her. Glimmer gave Entrapta a small encouraging nod of her head. She will have time to be angry at Entrapta later. Right now, all princesses must stick together. Entrapta looked back at Prime, straighten her back, and begun speaking. "The heart's planet is a massive energy source that is very valuable if one finds a way to control it. However, it needs all five princesses of Etheria to activate, and that included Glimmer. If you end her and the planet, you will lose a superweapon that can forever change your empire. I have only started to investigate its full potential, so I'm going to need more time. But once I finish my examination of it, you'll have unstoppable power at your disposal." Glimmer's eyebrows shot up in shock. Most of the time, Entrapta talked too fast for anyone to understand her. Since when was she able to speak so clearly?

"A weapon?" Prime's face turned neutral in thought. "That explains these readings. They are stronger than anything I've seen." He turned to Glimmer with a smile and gave her a small bow. "Your Majesty, what an honor to host a guest of your stature. Trust that your planet will become the jewel of my empire, and it will allow me to bring peace and order to the farthest reaches of the universe."

Prime turned his back to them, walking to his throne with a sinister smile. He turned to them as he sat. "Thank you for your allegiance, child. All creatures, no matter how small, have a place in service of Horde Prime."

Glimmer and Entrapta glanced at each other, both sharing similar anxieties about what's to come. Glimmer wanted to be hopeful for the future, but with all the odds at the moments, she might have run out of both magic and luck.


	2. Of Secrets and Visions Part.1

Adora ran as fast as she could in the Whispering Woods to get to those two kids before the three drones could harm them. She was helping the villagers escape the robot army before a mother noticed her girls were missing. She jumped high, making sure to slam her staff at the right place to destroy at least one of them.

"One down," Adora said as she took her staff out of the damaged drown. The girls suddenly screamed as a second drone flew towards them. Thankfully, Bow's arrow hit it at its core, breaking it in seconds.

"Two down." Bow put his foot down the drone to make sure it stays down. The last bot almost flew away until Swift Wind knocked it down from above with his hooves. "And a whole Galactic Horde to go," He added before landing next to Adora.

Perfuma made a whip vine to catch the bot before it fell to the ground and threw it to Frosta to smash with her ice fist. Mermista stood annoyed next to them. "I'll get the next one, I guess."

"It's okay," Adora called to the other villagers hiding in the bushes, "you can come out now." The two girls ran to their mother, who sends a smile of thanks to the princesses. Perfuma made a bridge out of vines to help them to the other side of the river. The princesses guarded the bridge as the villagers moved quickly. Adora looked up at the spaceship that landed next to the village, an uneasy feeling rising in her stomach. This was almost too easy...

Just as Adora suspected, another group of bots was coming to them. This time with machines with a structure of a living being. Their left arm was a lasergun, while the other was a thick sword. Adora hated how life-like they marched. Pefuma undid the bridge she made with her plants after making sure all the villagers passed the river, Bow, Frosta, and Swift Wind running with them, leaving Mermista and Adora against the robots. Mermista let out a smirk. 

"My turn," Mermista said before creating a massive wave to throw the robots against the tree trunks harshly. The water caused the spy drones to deactivate; however, the army bots were still working perfectly. 

"Come on!" she heard Bow shout from the other side. Mermista turned her back to the bots, ready to get to others. But Adora had to stay to finish the job. "let's go before they-" Adora didn't bother to hear Bow finish before letting out a war cry and attacked another laser bot. She heard Bow call for her, but she ignored him as she jumped high in the air to kick the robot in the chest. The robot attacked her back, trying to slice her head. Adora blocked him with her staff, but the bot used their close position to aim his arm cannon at Adora's head. Adora quickly moved her head before pushing the robot from her and jamming her staff in his laser. The robot exploded as Adora moved away from it.

She let out a small smile of victory before noticing the other bots coming her way. She continued to smile as she raised her staff in the air, calling for the honor of-! Oh. Oh no.

"Uh.." Adora realized her mistake as a laserbeam was shot her way. She let out a small scream of surprise as she dodged the laser when another bot came in to attack her. It swung one arm under her staff and the other above it, throwing the staff along with Adora to a nearby tree.

"Adora!" Bow called to her, trying to destroy as much as he could to get to her in time. Adora tried to calm him down by telling him she's fine, but her injuries said otherwise. The robot was ready to shoot her with another beam, and Adora tried to put up her staff in defense. Adora was almost sure she was dead meat until a whip came out of nowhere and forced the laser cannon to be aimed at the other bots instead. Before the bot that tried to kill Adora could regain its footing, a familiar profile came into Adora's vision and sliced through the bot's metal as if it was melted butter. The bot exploded within seconds.

"Hey, Adora," Catra's voice rang in Adora's ears. Whether it was because of the relief she felt or because of the explosion, Adora wasn't sure.

"Catra," Adora said breathlessly, "what are you doing here?"

"I save your sorry little butt, and this is the thanks I get?" Adora looked away from Catra, blushing from embarrassment. Catra let out a small snicker before reaching out a helping hand. "Now come on. You look stupid, sitting on the ground like that."

Adora took Catra's hands, trying not to sway as she was getting her balance back. She gave Catra a confused look. "No, but seriously, what are you doing here?"

"My 'Adora is an idiot' senses were tingling and came with you guys in secret. Our hidden base was guarded enough, so I came here to help." Catra answered nonchalantly while shrugging her shoulders. Her easy-going posture disappeared as she moved Adora away from another laserbeam. Another bot came to attack them, but before Adora could attack it, a water wave came and knocked it down before it could hurt anyone. Mermista came to Adora and held her by the shoulders so she'll focus on Mermista's words while ignoring Catra's presence. Adora glared at Mermista for that.

"Adora, chill," Mermista said, "You're not She-Ra anymore, remember? You can't take them all on your own."

Adora ignored Mermista's words, focusing on a bot running towards the other Princesses instead. She ran towards it, yelling, "I'm on it!".

Mermista let out a groan of frustration. "Ugh! But I just said..."

Catra gave Mermista a sympathetic smile in understanding. Mermista glared in return and returned to the battle to help their friends, and Catra's ears dropped as she frowned at the ground. Adora's heart ached at the exchange before returning her focus on the current enemies at hand.

Adora continued to battle the bots until all the villagers were out of danger. By the time they returned to camp, Adora was too exhausted to say goodbye to anyone. She got to her tent, took off her jacket, let her hair loose, and fell like the dead on her bed. Instead of getting some peaceful sleep as she hoped, she suffered a dream with several visions—Etheria floating in Space, She-Ra breaking the sword, a forest swimming in magic, a four-eyed monster. But the most permanent vision was that of a Glowing Woman figure standing on the edge of the universe. Every time Adora tried to reach the Glowing Woman, the woman's eyes flashed brightly to the point of blindness, and Adora would wake up gasping. And as always, She-Ra's broken sword was laid on the table by her bedside. Adora put her head in her hands as she tried to calm down.

Adora took a deep breath before getting off her bed. She got herself ready, letting out on last tired sigh before exiting her tent. Adora looked around her, checking if the barrier was broken yet or if the refugees are getting enough food. She saw Imp play with a bunch of kids, flying around them while mimicking their voices. Adora found it ironic how the most mischievous creature in the Fright Zone is the only person that could keep the kids in check. She walked towards Bow's working table, waving Sea Hawk hello as he cleaned his sword. Bow turned to her as her steps grew closer and louder, and his eyebrows furrowed when he noticed how tired she looked.

"Adora." Adora almost cringed from the concern in his voice. She hated it when she made him worry about her. "Did you get any sleep?"

Adora averted her eyes from Bow, knowing she can't lie to him right now. Instead, she put on a bright smile and changed the subject. "Have you finished the updates to Mara's ship? How soon can we take off to rescue Glimmer?" She finished the last question by punching the air in the hopes of looking energetic. Bow just frowned and looked at his datapad. 

"It's a little more complicated since-" Bow's voice was cut off by an enthusiastic, loud screeching of the word 'SPACE.' Adora's heart reached her throat. Entrapta is back-?

Instead of Entrapta, they were greeted by a grinning Catra and a beeping Emily, who showed them a purple hologram of a happy Entrapta. Adora tried not to show her disappointment.

"Emily's finally trusted me with Entrapta's recording!" Catra gleefully yelled, "Isn't that great?". Adora sighed to herself. Of course, Entrapta couldn't be here. She's in the middle of who-knows-where!

"Wait, does that mean we can finally listen to Entrapta's tapes?" Bow asked, sounding incredibly hopeful for the first time in weeks.

"Yep," Catra answered with a grin, "for the first time since Entrapta has been taken to Prime's ship, Emily has got over her small technical breakdown thanks to her separation anxiety and started me showing Entrapta's holograms. I think I'm finally getting somewhere with her."

"It would make sense she would. You searched the Fright Zone's ruins to find her a new piece of metal to replace that scratch mark you left on her. That would at least earn a thank you." Huh. At least now, Adora knows why Emily had a weird, jagged, grey area in her mostly dirty green outer armor.

Catra looked away in shame, probably remembering how she harmed Emily the first time. Adora wanted to reach out and take her hand, rubbing it under her finger while telling how amazingly she had helped the rebellion and its people since they found her alone in the Fright Zone when Prime first came. But that would only earn her a hiss from Catra, so she held herself back.

Catra then looked at Emily with a serious expression. "Emily, play the recording around four weeks and three days before my banishment to the Crimson Waste."

Emily let out two long beeps before a hologram of Entrapta, Scorpia, and Catra from two years ago appeared in front of them. Catra and Scorpia were sitting on a large couch, with Catra playing with her nails while Scorpia took notes. Entrapta was looking at her computer, analyzing all the data in front of her.

"So, Hordak told you there are a million planets outside of Etheria?" Hologram Scorpia asked with a big smile.

"He didn't tell me just that!" Hologram Entrapta yelled enthusiastically. "He also told me about the endless and crushing void of Space! There is also crushing pressure, freezing temperatures, vaporization. All it takes one little hull breach in a spaceship, and then, whoosh! We're all dead!" Adora shared a scared look with Bow. Please don't let there be more.

"And that's not even all!" Dang-it. "Space is always expanding. There is no telling if there is even an edge to the universe. It just keeps getting bigger and bigger!" Entrapta let out a crazy laugh, scaring hologram Scorpia and annoying hologram Catra. Real-life Catra let out a small snort.

"I forgot how dorky her laugh it," she said with a soft smile, and Adora felt annoyed. Her laugh was dorky too, but Catra never mentioned it. 

"So, there is really no way we can find them?" Bow asked, sounding and looking as if near tears.

Catra proceeded to grin, clicking on a few things on her datapad, and showed it to Adora and Bow. On the datapad were spacesuit designs, weapon upgrades, and maps of Prime's ship. All of the blueprints were written in Entrapta's handwriting. Adora couldn't close her mouth from shock. Bow tried to ask Catra how she got these plans, but the confusion made him speechless.

"Entrapta has hacked into Prime's ship and has secretly been sending us her plans," Catra explained smugly, "I have found one of her old datapads in the Fright Zone, and she has been sending information to it for about a week now. She sent us repairs for Darla, upgrades for the shields, engines, and enough calculated life support for an entire year. She has also been sending me some personal notes with cute cupcake drawings, so we'll know if it's her and not some sick trick from Prime. While this doesn't show where they are, it at least gives us a morale boost."

"How come you haven't shown us this before?" Bow asked in suspicion, and Adora suddenly felt angry at Catra. What makes her think she could keep information like this from them?

"Because I was only getting the personal notes around three days ago when Entrapta noticed I wasn't responding," Catra explained, "I didn't know at first if I can find the information the datapad sent us trustworthy. But after Entrapta started to send personal notes that only Entrapta would understand, I knew it was the real thing. I just... didn't want to get any unnecessary hopes up." Catra finished lamely with a shrug of her shoulders, and Adora felt guilt swirling in her stomach. Catra has been salvaging more tech than anyone, started to help Bow with technical repairs to take Entrapta's place, and even took Imp under her wing -paw?- so that he won't be alone in the Fright Zone. Adora should have stopped being suspicious by now. Her inner guilt trip was interrupted by loud arguing from the tent next to them.

"Are you kidding me?!" Frosta yelled from the alliance tent, making Adora lean on the table behind her and pinch her nose's bridge. She had a feeling this is going to be one of those days where she couldn't catch a break. Adora walked towards the tent, where she found king Micah, Shadow Weaver, general Juilet, and all the current princesses, minus Scorpia, all arguing simultaneously.

"The sorcerer's spells will only keep us hidden for so long," Shadow Weaver said after the shouting died down, "Then what? This is the only way. Your daughter understood well enough."

"You don't talk to me about my daughter," king Micah replied furiously. Adora felt angry, as well. The only person more upset than Bow about Glimmer's kidnapping was king Micah. Using her to to convince him to follow her plan was low, even for Shadow Weaver - wait, no, this is entirely in character for her, Adora thought bitterly.

"She would have never had us abandon Bright Moon," Shadow Weaver said mournfully. Was she still bitter about that? It's been at least two weeks since they left!

"We couldn't hold Bright Moon with the Galactic Horde attacking us."King Micah turned to the girls after explaining to Shadow Weaver for the hundredth time why went to hide in the woods. "We need better cover."

"Which is precisely why we should use the Heart of Etheria!"Shadow Weaver said. All the attendants at the tent shouted in annoyance -she heard Perfuma 'I can't. I just can't- and Adora had a feeling this wasn't the first time Shadow Weaver brought this up. Or the second. Or the tenth.

"Okay," Mermista replied in irritation, "so, we're not doing that because, A, without Glimmer and, more importantly, without She-Ra, the Heart of Etheria won't work." Adora looked away at that. "And, B, when it did 'work,' it nearly destroyed everyone. So, no, thanks."

"Oh, and also, C, we don't like you, and we don't want your help," Frosta added.

"Also, D, are you still our prisoner? Could we get a rundown of who is and who is not our prisoner?" Perfuma asked. Adora had enough and walked to the center of the tent.

"Arguing isn't going to help us," she said in front of king Micah and Shadow Weaver, "We need to find information on Horde Prime to find Entrapta and Glimmer. And we won't get any of that sitting around here."

"Adora's right." Adora turned her head to Micah as he stepped forward. "The best thing we can do now is to focus on evacuation, scouting missions, and keeping everyone safe until we can learn more of Horde Prime's plans. Our scouts report that another one of his spires has been spotted near Thaymor."

"Wait, wait, wait," Mermista said, "Didn't we just save Thaymore?"

"No, you're thinking of Elberon," Frosta replied.

Mermista let out a loud groan before dramatically dropping to a plushie chair. "Can everyone stop getting invaded for, like, five seconds?"

"I'll do it! I'll bring them back!" Adora yelled excitedly. Finally, a chance at being useful.

"Alone?" Perfuma asked with concern, gently laying her hands on Adora's shoulder. "Adora, you really ought to bring backup. You're not you-know-who anymore." Perfuma whispered the last part in Adora's ear. Adora knew she was trying to be supportive, but she was only annoyed at Perfuma's attitude. Just because Adora wasn't She-Ra anymore doesn't mean she's made out of china.

"Fine, I'll take a team." Most times, Adora would fight and try to convince them she could do this alone, but she was too tired of that now. Most of the attendants took that as a conclusion for the meeting and left the tent, with only king Micah staying behind. He grabbed Adora's shoulders gently and gave her an encouraging smile.

"I still believe in you, Adora," he said, "You saved me, and I know you're gonna save my little girl." Adora looked away from king Micah, feeling more troubled than encouraged, but looked up to his eyes when she spoke back confidently.

"I'll promise I'll bring Glimmer back, your majesty," Adora said, "Wherever she is, we'll get her back." She finished her sentence with a smile. King Micah walked out of the tent, leaving Adora alone with her doubts. She took another tired sign, straightened her posture, and walk out as well.

Adora decided to take Bow, Swift Wind, Catra, and Scorpia on the next escort mission, thinking that a smaller team would attract less attention. The mission was a smooth success, having transported all the villagers without any disturbance. Swift Wing landed after one last sky scout next to Scorpia on a boulder she stood on to get a better look at the walking civilians.

"No bots in sight," he said. Adora felt her muscle relax from that. "I don't wanna jinx it or anything, but this a pretty great first mission together." He added the last part to Scorpia.

Scorpia let out a beaming smile. "I'm so happy you said that cause I feel the same way! We've kind of a great team. Between your hooves.."

"And your pincers..."

"And our positive attitude, nothing can get in our way!"

Swift Wind let out a laugh before looking away in embarrassment. "Oh, uh, just so you know, I have been known to sing from time to time."

Scorpia let out an excited squeak. "What?" She asked excitedly. "I love singing. Catra always used to say how much it was annoying. Man, you guys are the best." 

"Hey!" Catra called out from their left. "At least I apologized! I even suggested starting those weird 'karaoke' nights the princesses used to have!"

"Just because you apologized doesn't mean I can't tease you about it. I heard that all great friendships have a bit of mean-spiritedness in them!" Catra couldn't disagree with that without looking like a hypocrite -something that Scorpia probably knew- so she decided to scowl in annoyance instead.

"That's the last of them. No bots, no drones. We're clear," Bow concluded after bringing the last two villagers, a young woman and her daughter. The young girl gasped at the sight of Adora, accidentally dropping her doll. Adora went down to pick the toy but stopped for a moment after seeing it's a Mini stuffed She-Ra. She looked at it, feeling the despair from losing She-Ra and being more useless than ever, feeling like a failure for no longer being able to reach that little girl's expectations. Adora pulled herself out of those dark thoughts and stood up to get to the girl.

"Wait!" She called as she walked towards the little girl. Adora gave her back the little doll and couldn't help but smile at the girl's shining eyes, looking as if she hasn't seen anything greater than Adora. Bow smiled too until his datapad started to beep in alarm. Bow put on his scanners to get a closer look at the scenery ahead, his face turning grave.

"Uh-oh," Swift Winds said, "Beeps and that look are never a good combination." 

"We've got trouble," Bow said as he hid behind the bolder Scorpia stood on. Scorpia, Swift Wind, and Catra jumped behind it right after him.

"Is that Hordak?" Swift Wind asked. "Three Hordaks?"

"That's not Hordak," Catra said as Bow gave her the scanners, "Those are Clones."

"We need to get out of here," Bow said.

"I've got a better idea," Adora said before charging at the clones, yelling out while ignoring Bow's shouting and Catra's facepalm. She was _this_ close to attacking those clones until she felt a sting on her back. 

She awoke again on the edge of the universe, with the Glowing woman standing in front of her, showing her back to Adora. As Adora walked to reach her, the woman started to walk away. Adora called out to her, trying to catch up to her, but no matter how far she ran, she just couldn't reach her. By the time Adora was close enough to reach the Glowing Woman's hand, the woman had started to glow too brightly again, forcing Adora to wake up. Adora screamed 'NO' in distress as she woke, only to blink repeatedly at the brightness of the day. It took her a few seconds to realize someone was carrying her upside down on their backs as they walked through the Whispering Woods.

"You're awake," Swift Wind chirped as he put his head in her line of vision, letting out a small laugh. 

Adora let out a small groan of pain. "What happened? Where are those clones? Did we get them?" it took adora a few seconds to realize that scorpia was the one carrying her

Scorpia put Adora down while looking guilty. Adora fell to the ground before standing up and regaining her balance. She was able to stand for a second, only to fall again.

"Scorpia stung you before you could get yourself killed." Adora started to talk back only to get cut off by Catra. "And don't you dare be mad at her or us! We wouldn't have had to do anything if you had actually listened to us when we told you to retreat!"

"Space Clones!" Swift Wind shouted angrily, too, in an attempt to remind her of the dangerous enemy.

"You stung me?" Adora asked as she pointed at Scorpia, trying to take in the information.

"I'm so, so sorry," Scorpia said as she helped Adora up," But I don't regret it and will do it again if needed." Catra gave a nod of approval at Scorpia's words. Scorpia looked away while blushing.

"Adora," Bow send sternly. Adora turned her back and started to rub her face tiredly. She _really_ didn't have the strength for another lecture. "you can't keep running into battle like that. Not anymore. You have to stop acting like you're invincible. You aren't..."

"You don't need to say it," Adora said as she turned to face Bow, "I know. I made that choice, and I'm with living with the consequences."

"Then what are you trying to do?" Bow asked.

"Maybe I could get those clones to tell us where Glimmer and Entrapta are being held. Then I'd be one step closer to saving them."

"That's...not a bad idea," Bow said. Adora's eyebrows shut up in surprise.

"Wait; what?" Adora wondered if Scorpia's venom left some weird hearing side effects.

"Trying to fight a troop of clones by yourself is reckless," Bow scolded Adora again before continuing, "Catching and questioning one clone is also reckless, but this time we do it together." Adora smiled at Bow's words as they came up with the next plan of attack.

They went to another village area, filled with Horde bots and clones. They hid in the bushed near the village's entrance, waiting for a lone clone to come out. When the chance they waited for finally appeared, Adora went out of the bushes to greet him.

"Hey," she said to him, "Ready to go again?"

The clone ran to charge at her, ready to attack. Unluckily for the clone, Swift Wind had flown over to him to knock him down with his hooves. Bow shot a net binding arrow at the clone as he regains his footing from Swift Wind's attack, roping the clone to himself. Scorpia gave him an electric punch, and Catra shoved him to a large rock with her whip, knocking him out for good. The gang stood around him as he fell unconscious.

They took the clone to an empty area in the middle of the woods where no one could find them. They stood in a circle around as he woke, making sure to block all escape roots. Adora stood in the front, Scorpia stood on the right, Bow stood on the left, and Catra stood on the back while Swift Wind flew around the sky to make sure no one is coming for them. Adora took a step forward to the clone as she began talking.

"Horde Prime took my friends, and I want them back. Where are they?" Adora finished her sentence by shoving her staff to the clone's face to look more threatening. Catra didn't say any dry remarks, so Adora was definitely doing something right.

The clone didn't even flinch at Adora's words or movements. Instead, he just smiled. "Fear not," he said, "Your friends are honored guests of Horde Prime, emperor of the Galactic Horde, ruler of the known universe, regent of the seven skies..." his gleeful talk was cut off by Adora slamming her staff on the ground next to him.

"I said, where?" Adora asked, her voice getting lower with impatience. Catra smiled proudly at her aggressive body language. Adora decided to ignore the warm feeling in her chest and focused on being intimidating.

"They are with Prime on his flagship," the clone answered, his sickeningly gleeful nature not even wavering, "safe at the heart of his empire, far from your paltry world. They are chosen, basking in the light of Prime's favor, he who brings the day and the night-" Adora started to feel more irritated by the minute with his answers, and it's safe to say the rest of them were getting annoyed as well. 

"Okay, we get it." Bow said in an attempted to make him stop.

"Glory be to Horde Prime," the clone stretched on, ignoring the tired groans of the surrounding group. "revered one of the shining galaxies, promised one of the thousand suns-" the clone was cut off by Scorpia using her pincers to shut him up.

"Man, not even Hordak talked that much," Catra mumbled to herself. "Did you ever hear him talk like this?

"No, he just growled and yelled 'GET. OUT' a lot. And I was to ask you the same thing. You did spend more time with him." 

The clone started to laugh, and Scorpia took off her pincers to give him a chance to talk. He gave them a cruel smirk before speaking. "Your queen and princess are safe. Unlike your rebel friends."

"What do you mean?" Adora asked, putting back her serious face.

"Horde Prime sees all. Horde Prime knows all. You can abandon Bright Moon, cloak your rebel camp in illusions, but we will find you."

A firework of a moon lit up the sky just as the clone finished his speech- that means the camp is in danger. Swift Wind came back as well, looking more scared than Adora has ever seen him.

"We have to go now," Swift Wind said between huffs, "They're in trouble."

The group didn't need to hear anything else. They moved through the forest, slid down a hill, and ran straight to the campsite. They saw Perfuma, Mermista, and Frosta fighting the army bots, covering for the rest of the rebellion. Catra called to Imp in distress, who stayed behind to collect the broken robot pieces. King Micah heard her shout and saw the robot about to attack Imp. He destroyed it with a spell and shielded Imp for the explosion the had robot set off and brought him back to Catra. Another robot tried to attack king Micah, whose focus was on Imp, but Shadow Weaver threw a potion from her sleeve pocket, throwing it at the robot before it could do any harm. The robot melted as king Micah let out an unimpressed hum. Imp flew to Catra with a few broker bot pieces and a proud smile. Catra just gave him a stern glare.

"What were you thinking?" She asked Imp, trying - and failing - to control her voice volume.

"Tech!" Imp replied in Entrapta's voice, and Catra's stern glare soften a bit.

"I understand you want to collect tech for Entrapta once she comes back, but you won't be able to do so if you're dead." While Catra had tried to look strict, her downcast ears showed how guilty she felt for shouting at Imp. "Now come on, we have to get out of here."

The group almost got out before getting blocked by a small crowd of bots. Scorpia stood forward, raised her claw at them, and send an electric wave. The bots all fell in seconds. Imp almost tried to reach out for one of the broken robots, but Catra gathered him in her arms tightly before the next gathering of bots could hurt catch him.

Adora saw at least three more robots coming their way and charged at them. Continuing the ongoing theme of ignoring Bow's shouts, she jumped high in the sky in threw her staff straight at the robot's eyehole. She kicked another robot down, but the next one bot aimed his laser at her chest. Adora blocked the shot with her staff, but the blast was strong enough to throw her off, and she rolled onto the ground. Adora tried to grab onto her pole, but another robot aimed his laser at it and darted it away from her. Adora looked around and saw a bot from every corner. She fell to the ground from fear and waited for the bots to shot her down.

Expect the blast never came. Instead, Adora noticed a nearby bot get shot with an electric arrow, heard Scorpia shout, and saw how the rest of the robots around her fall to the ground. Scorpia landed on one of the robots and ran to take on the others. Bow ran to Adora's side.

"Adora, are you okay?" Bow asked as he helped her off the ground.

"No, you were right, Bow," Adora answered, painfully admitting her vulnerability. "I can't fight them all. I'm not strong enough, and I'm not She-Ra, I'm not a hero anyone, I'm just me. And I can't do this alone." Adora closed her eyes in shame, not being able to look anyone in the eye.

"But, Adora, you're not alone." Adora looked up at Bow, tears forming in her eyes. "You've never been."

That was when Adora saw the princesses fight alongside her. Mermista with her waves, Scorpia with her red lighting, Perfuma with her vines, and Frosta with her ice fists. Bow held out his hand after she got to her feet.

"We've got this," he told her, "Together." 

Adora smiled at Bow and put her hand in his. "Together."

Adora, Bow, and the rest of the princesses fought the robots until there were known left, using moves they learned from training together to knock them all out. When the dust finally cleared, Adora saw the civilians who didn't have time to escape waiting for the right time to escape. She turned to Bow. "We can't stay here. It isn't safe anymore."

"We've kind of running out of places to hide." Bow's words made Adora remember that vision of a forest swimming in magic. An idea popped into her head.

"I think I know where we can go." Adora saw more bots coming their way and turned to the other princesses. "And we better hurry. Come on." 

Bow and Scorpia gave her a sharp nod and gathered all the other princesses. They found king Micah, Shadow Weaver, and Catra running through the forest as Adora walked through the familiar path. After a couple of minutes, she noticed how drained everyone around her was, including herself.

"Adora, where are we going?" Bow asked tiredly.

"It's a place here somewhere—a place where we'll be safe. Madame Razz brought me there, and I saw it again in my dreams. I just hope it lets us in." Before we all collapse from exhaustion, she added to herself.

"Great," Catra said sarcastically, "Our only hope for salvation is a secret place no had ever seen, that you have seen in a magical vision and a crazy old lady showed you that one time. Tha totally doesn't show how doomed we are." Adora ignored Catra's dry remark and continued onwards.

Adora got to a dead-end, knowing the entrance was supposed to be here somewhere. She noticed a small ball of light coming to her left and saw a glowing hole between the wooden vines. As she touched the twisted vines, they opened up to a secret meadow.

The meadow was beautiful, full of glowing crystals, plants, and tiny sparks of flying lights. Adora ran into the middle of the field, only being able to say 'wow' in wonder. The other princesses gasped in amazement. Adora even saw a few animals coming out to see them.

"Where are we?" King Micah asked in bewilderment.

"The deepest part of the Whispering Woods. Horde Prime won't find us here. We're safe." Adora couldn't believe her own words. This probably the first time she has felt relaxed in weeks. "Now, we just have to set up camp and..."

Adora suddenly fell to the ground in agony as she clenched her head. She grunted in pain as visions came to her—Etheria in Space, the four-eyed monster, She-Ra breaking the sword. She fell to the ground as new images came- A massive explosion that wiped out the galaxy, a city built within cracked earth, that Glowing Woman again, only this time she could almost see her face.

Adora let out one last cry of pain before falling unconscious on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally starved myself while writing this chapter. Oops


	3. Of Secrets and Visions Part.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I just a few things towards the end of the chapter because the final result didn't satisfy me. So don't be confused if you see some changes

Entrapta was escorted down the hall by two clones when she heard Glimmer yell from her cell, slamming her fists on the force field. Entrapta almost turned at the corner to say hello to Glimmer, but the clone on her right put a firm hand on her shoulder to make her stay in place. Entrapta looked at Glimmer sadly one last time as the queen begged for anyone to answer her before moving towards her current destination.

The two Wrong Hordaks - what Entrapta called the clones until she finds out their real names- brought her to the throne room she saw when she first appeared on the ship. There in the floating center of the room sat Horde Prime in what looked like a comatose state. His usually black pupils glowed white, and he sat completely rigid. The two clones bowed their heads and left the room.

"Excuse me, Lord Prime, sir," Entrapta said, hoping she hadn't lost the restraint of her volume and tone. "You... wanted to see me?"

Horde Prime continued to sit utterly still, not even flinching when Entrapta pocked his right hand. Entrapta took that opportunity to take out the datapad she 'borrowed' from the clones and wrote down Prime's current state. They seem to have a hundred of them, so it's not like they'll notice if one is missing. It was moments like these where Entrapta missed her lost recorder.

Entrapta analyzed Prime's lack of need for breathing -something that he and Hordak had in common. Probably something the entire race shared- when he awoke from his nap and called out Entrapta's name. Entrapta let out a surprised squeak as she jumped two feet backward.

"That is your name, is it not?" Prime didn't wait for Entrapta's answer before resuming. "I have been reviewing the memories of my defective brother. It seems he had a lot of admiration for you. Far more than I have originally thought. Maybe that is he was so lost in his way."

Entrapta could feel her face getting red in anger. "Hordak is not 'your defective brother,' he's Hordak! And he was never lost in his way! All he talked about was how much he wanted to go home and be by your side again. And how could you invade his memories like that? You shouldn't penetrate people's minds like this. It's wrong!"

Prime let out a small 'hmm' in false consideration and let out a small, mocking smile. "I know you Etherians have been disconnected from the world for too long, so it's no wonder you wouldn't know what a great honor it is being my servant. My light is the most glorious, and my brothers have the great delight of witnessing it firsthand. Being a helper in my empire is the greatest gift anyone could ever wish for. As you call it, this 'wrong penetration' is nothing more than one of its many honors."

Prime rose from his chair, walking towards her as he went on with his speech. " And I am sure that after watching how my light reaches Etheria and changing your homeworld for the better, you will be convinced to join me. After all, isn't my technology everything you have ever wished for?" Prime circled Entrapta as he talked, putting his hand on her shoulder as he waited for her answer. Entrapta shrugged his hand from her shoulder, taking to steps forward while trying to calm herself down. There was nothing she hated more than forced physical simulation.

Prime let out a dramatic sign. "I guess you Etherians are going to be hard to convince than others. No matter. My brother's memories showed how you have a far superior mind to that of an average Etherian, and I know you'll be enough of a genius to know better than to reject me." Entrapta had to hold back her tears. He firsts reminded her of Hordak while refusing to give her any information about Hordak's current state, then he forced his affection on her, and now he called her a genius. It's almost as if he went into her own memories to know how to weaken her emotional state and make her more vulnerable.

Prime allowed her to leave then, waving his hand away as if she has become nothing to him within seconds. Is this an emotional manipulation tactic to make her feel worthless and become more fixated with Prime's approval? No wonder Hordak was so obsessed with failure. The more she stayed in the Velvet Glove, the more she felt as if she's back in her kingdom's villages, being made fun of by other kids for being too 'weird,' being looked down on by the adults for not understanding 'simple' tasks. Oh, how she would kill to hide in the air vents of the Fright Zone again.

Entrapta decided to distract herself from her homesickness by taking advantage of her free hour per day 'offering' Prime had given her. He thought that by letting her roam his airship more freely once a day, she would be more convinced into joining his side, but it only did the opposite effect. Instead, she used her free time to investigate more rooms and discover more about Prime's plans. Entrapta has been doing this since the second day of her capture, and Prime is none the wiser.

Entrapta's hair hugged her frame in an attempted to keep out the coldness of the flagship. Its wide-open halls and lack of air vents made her more uncomfortable than she thought was possible. How could anyone get around here without feeling lost? Finally, after what feels like forever, Entrapta had found Glimmer's cell. She saw Glimmer around in circles, looking more frustrated than ever. She stopped walking and leaned on the forced field door and shouted, "You can't hold me here forever!" Entrapta couldn't stop the happy squeal that came up her throat. 

Glimmer snapped her head to the sound of Entrapta's voice, her frustration being replaced with shock. "Entrapta? What are you doing here?"

Entrapta was vibrating with joy. "Searching for you, of course! Prime had put me in a cell on a different floor, and I've been looking for yours since we got here. Tell me, have you seen Hordak? Did they tell you anything about the outside world?"

Glimmer's expression turned angry again. "We've been here for weeks, and all you care about is the monster that tried to destroy Etheria? Do you even care about our friends?"

Entrapta took a step back in hurt, only to take two steps forward in determination. "Hordak only tried to conquer Etheria, and I was the one who saved Bow and Adora from Beast Island. If we were to analyze our last actions before Prime captured us, the one who fits the description of trying to destroy Etheria and lack of care towards our friends, it's _you_." 

Glimmer looked at Entrapta in shock. She looked down on the floor in shame before speaking. "Entrapta, before you got here, Prime did... something to Hordak. He said something about how Hordak was an abomination and how he must be reborn. I don't know what Prime exactly had done to him, but I don't think Hordak is going to be able to remember anything-"

"No." Glimmer looked up at Entrapta's stubborn tone. "No, you're wrong. Hordak is my lab partner. He is the one that made me remember everything when the portal almost destroyed Etheria. He will remember me just as I remembered him. And while I know that my data isn't always correct, I am sure that I'm one hundred percent right this time." Glimmer leaned heavier on the force filled, looking as if she wanted to reach out to take Entrapta's hand-

"Horde Prime requests your presence as his guests for dinner this evening," two Wrong Hordaks said behind Entrapta, causing her to jump a few good fit in the air. Both she and Glimmer let out a small shout of surprise. Entrapta hoped they didn't hear the entire conversation, or she and Glimmer are both doomed. "The both of you," they added as the force field went down, allowing Glimmer to walk out. Entrapta and Glimmer shared one last glance at each other before following the Wrong Hordaks. 

Entrapta hopped a few steps forward, trying to keep up with the Wrong Hordaks before speaking. "So, what are your names? It feels weird calling you guys 'Wrong Hordaks' in my head." Glimmer raised a questioning brow at Entrapta's question. _Oh, she probably didn't know I call them Wrong Hordaks._

"It is wrong to have a name," the Wrong Hordak on the left said, "Prime's chosen servants are but parts of the whole."

Glimmer stopped in her tracks, her face getting pale. "But doesn't that bother you? How can you not find this whole 'not being your own person' suffocating?"

"Of course not," the Wrong Hordak on the right, looking as if Glimmer couldn't have said anything more bizarre, "for our duty is only to serve our lord Prime. For his light is the most incredible, and there is nothing greater than being a servant in his great empire." If it weren't for Entrapta's gloves, her nails would have pierced her skin from clenching her fits too hard.

They continued their walk to Prime in silence, and Entrapta slowed down her pace, not wanting to be next to the Wrong Hordaks anymore. She was afraid she might end up killing Prime if they told her anything else. She noticed how Glimmer looked like she wanted to do anything but eat if her green complexion had anything to say. Entrapta put a small tendril of hair to Glimmer's shoulder in an attempt to make her feel less anxious. Glimmer looked at Entrapta in surprise and then gave her a grateful smile. Her smile vanished the second they reached the dining hall. Prime's seat was empty, but the Wrong Hordaks still moved their chairs for them as a way to show they can start without him. Glimmer took the chair at the opposite end while Entrapta sat on the left of Glimmer. 

Prime had entered the room just had the entrees have been served -odd jello thingies with a cupcake at the bottom served with pink drinks- trying to play off his lateness as if it was nothing, and Entrapta almost rolled her eyes. _Doesn't he know how being fashionably late is the oldest trick in the book? Even I know that!_

"Are you comfortable, your majesty? Your highness?" He asked as he sat down, smiling his usual sinister simper. Entrapta wanted nothing more than to punch that smile for what he has done to his clones and Hordak. "I strive to treat my guests well. I believe we can learn a great deal from one another." The girls shared another look, with Glimmer looking terrified while Entrapta looked more on edge. Neither of them knew what to say, so they just started to eat. Entrapta took a bite and let out a sigh of relief in her head. The food's texture was thankfully edible.

"Ah. Enjoyable, yes?" Prime asked after they both ate a small portion. "It's a delicacy from a distant world, light years away from here. It was very much like Etheria." Entrapta wished she could pull out her datapad and write down all this information. Maybe he could tell them more about that distant planet. "This dish is incredibly rare, as that world no longer exists." Oh.

Glimmer looked down on her food, her hand shaking from Prime's unsaid threat and dropping her spoon. Entrapta let out another stay of hair, putting in Glimmer's hand that rested under the table. Glimmer didn't show any expression of thanks due to Prime's watchful eyes, but she did squeeze Entrapta's hair in thanks.

"Seconds?" Prime asked.

Entrapta's hair squeezed Glimmer's hand to give her the strength to answer. "No, thank you." Glimmer replied with her head held up high. Entrapta nodded her head in agreement. Prime's smile somehow became even more sinister, and Entrapta's nerves fell to her stomach.

"Speaking of Etheria, you both must miss it terribly. Would you like to see your homeworld now?" Prime didn't wait for an answer before snapping his fingers. The glass wall behind him split into nine parts, with a circle on the bottom, seven shards around along with one final shard at the top. All the shards showed images of a burning camp and several civilians in pain and fear. The image that haunted Entrapta the most was that of She-Ra's doll, lying on the dirt. She really hoped the doll's owner didn't get hurt. Glimmer let out a gasp of distress.

The images continued to change, showing villagers running in fear, the princesses fighting with all their might. Entrapta felt like she couldn't breathe.

"No," she heard Glimmer say to herself. The next image was Bow, falling on his knees from exhaustion, making Glimmer jump out of her seat. Entrapta almost cried out too if she had the strength to.

"Why are you doing this?" Glimmer asked in tears.

"Every rebellion forms around a leader, a beacon of hope, that little note of discord." One of the shards on the left changed to one of Adora running from bots. Entrapta's eyes widen. "Ah. There she is, your beacon of hope. Adora. She-Ra." Entrapta's hand started to shake. Now it was Glimmer's turn to give a comforting squeeze of a hand.

"A nuisance that must be purged in order to bring to Etheria." Prime's words caused Glimmer to break those tears free that she has been holding back since the beginning of dinner. Entrapta wanted to cry with her so badly.

The shard proceeded to show Adora fighting the bots. She was able to take on down easily, but the next one knocked her off her feet with his laser. Adora tried to reach her staff after she fell to the ground, but the next bot shot it from her. Adora tried to get up to catch it in time, but several bots came from all sides, trapping her in place. The robot was ready to fire his arm cannon at Adora, who fell from fright, screaming out no in a panic-

"Stop! don't hurt her!" Glimmer's yelled as she stood up from her seat, snapping Entrapta out of her hyperfocus. Entrapta let out a breath she didn't even notice she was holding.

Prime smirked at Glimmer's outburst as four Wrong Hordaks surrounded her if she was going to attack. Glimmer took a deep breath to calm down. "You wanna use the weapon, right? You need all the princesses, and that includes She-Ra. Without her, the heart of Etheria is useless. You can't hurt her."

Entrapta back from Prime to Glimmer, taking this as a chance to speak up. "Queen Glimmer is correct. Adora holds the power of She-Ra within her, and just her sword alone activated the portal that took Etheria out of its pocket dimension. And the last She-Ra died centuries years ago. No one knows how long it will take for another She-Ra to appear."

Prime leaned on his right palm, his smirk never leaving his face. "Very well," he said as he waved his left hand, making the images close, "This has been most illuminating. Thank you, Glimmer. I do look forward to more of our conversations. But for now, eat up."

The four Wrong Hordaks backed away from Glimmer, returning to their waiter duties as they brought more food to the table. Glimmer cried as she began to eat again, her hand pressing on the lock of Entrapta's hair the never left her side. Entrapta couldn't read minds, and she was terrible at reading human expression and body language, but she had a gut feeling the Glimmer just realized that she just entered a trap Prime had set up for her before dinner had even begun. Entrapta eyed the screen behind Prime one last time before finishing her dish.

They finished the rest of dinner in intense silence, and Entrapta now understood the saying 'you could cut the tension with a knife.' Glimmer was escorted out of the room after she was done, leaving Entrapta alone with Horde Prime. Glimmer gave her one last glance before the door closed in her face. Entrapta stood up from her seat and walked towards Prime.

"What you did to Glimmer was cruel, and I will never forgive you for what you are doing to our friends," she said without a hint of fear, "I hope you know that your attempt at making me spread any information on the rebellion has failed. People have used similar manipulations tactics on me in the past, and yours can't affect me now."

Prime stood up from his chair without a hint of anger at Entrapta's words. "It's funny how you call them your friends, yet they didn't ask about you once."

Entrapta's widen in hurt. "What?"

"It is very sad, but very true, my dear," Prime said as he stood above her, shadowing her small frame, "I see all. I know all. Your 'friends' only asked about the little queen. 'Where is Glimmer? Why did he take her? Where is our _friend?_ ' It seems none of them have ever mentioned you. So typical of your kind to be so blind to the brilliance in front of them-" 

Entrapta couldn't hold it in anymore. All the fear she felt, the yearning for home, the pain of being betrayed by Catra. She took all of it out when she slapped Horde Prime in the face. His shock only allowed her to speak. "I have just told you how I have been manipulated in the past, how I learned from my mistakes the hard way, and you still thought this would work? If you think I'm stupid, then say so, but don't call me a genius and then try to treat me like an infant! It just proves how you're no better than the people you look down on!"

Entrapta was huffing by the time she finished, her hair standing up on ends. Prime cradled his cheek lightly, and his mouth was slightly open from shock. Entrapta happily noted he has finally let go of that mocking smirk. After a few moments of stillness, Prime had resume talking.

"You Etherian are all alike," he said pitifully, "Such strong connections to each other. It what makes you weak. It what stops you from seeing the true order of this world."

Prime had slid down on sharp finger down Entrapta's cheek, lifting up her chin when he reached the end. Entrapta didn't flinch, refusing to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. It only made him smile. " Luckily for you, my little genius, I have a great fondness for you and your inventions. After all, you were the one who made my little brother's failures somewhat less of an embarrassment to me. And as I said before, I know that once you see how my pure and peaceful my world looks, you will have no objections to joining me and serving by my side." He called two more Wrong Hordaks to his side. Prime turned his back on Entrapta as she was conducted out of the room. "Now, if you don't mind, I have a rebellion to crush, little sister."

As the two Wrong Hordaks escorted her back to her cell, Entrapta kept her head high as she walked away and announced to herself a promise to the universe.

_I'm going to make Prime fall, even if it's the last thing I'll ever do._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I am autistic. That part about Entrapta wishing she could cry with Glimmer? That's because I have the hardest time letting out emotions. So this chapter is kind of personal to me.


	4. The Start of Forgiveness Part.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me five days to get this chapter right. I was this close from destroying my computer out of frustration

Catra panted as she and princesses climbed up the nearest mountain. They had just finished their daily patrol of the Whispering Woods hoping to find more refugees, and Catra was just about to suggest going back to camp when the spires around them started to charge. A hologram of Prime appeared on all of them, and Catra swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Rejoice Etheria, for Prime has come for you." Catra had to cover her ears in pain. His voice echoed so  _ loudly _ . "Do not fear, for you have been given the opportunity to share in a world soon to be remade in my image. But first, you must prove yourselves worthy."  _ Oh no _ . "Your Leader, your She-Ra, she would see you suffer in darkness for her sake. Cast aside this false hero and deliver her to me. Prime sees all. Prime knows all. They will not escape my judgment." Catra tried to calm down her beating heart by focusing on Prime's conquer skills. She'll have time to panic later.  _ He's winnings  _ **_ are  _ ** _ pretty impressive. _

Scorpia touched Catra's shoulder lightly as the other princesses glared at her. Catra blushed in embarrassment.  _ I did not mean to say that out loud.  _ "And bad. Very bad for all of us," she added swiftly.

"Let's just get back to camp already," Mermista mumbled grumpily as Perfuma stretched out a vine for them to cling onto as it slowly brought them back to land. The walk back to camp was as awkward as all the other times Catra worked with the princesses besides Scorpia. It seems that even after weeks of working with the rebellion, the princesses  _ still  _ hadn't begun to trust her. Catra signed to herself in annoyance.  _ Jeeze. And I thought I carried grudges. _

Catra waved hello to Bow and Swift Wind -the few people who actually seemed to like her- and went straight to Adora's tent. She saw Adora mumbling something in her sleep, refusing to lie still for a second as she punched and kick the air. That did stop Catra from putting her headband aside and rest at the bottom of Adora's bed. She was too tired to undress anyway, and with all the attacks and emergency meetings lately, it might be for the best if she doesn't change into her pajamas. She was just about to fall asleep, remembering all those slumber parties they made for themselves, gossiping about who is going to be the next force captain while giggling to themselves...

Until Adora kicked herself out of bed, pulling Catra to the floor with her. Catra screamed a bit in shock as all her hair stood on its end. It took her a few moments to calm down her heartbeat and hear upcoming footsteps. A new figure has entered the tent.

"Hey, sleepyheads, you hungry?" Bow asked before screeching bloody murder, dropping his tray of food at the sight of Adora faced down on the floor. Catra didn't understand the need for that scream until she saw Adora and almost screamed herself. Adora, who's skin was usually tan, was looking paler than those ghost princesses stories they were told as kids, and the dark circles under her eyes didn't help either.

"What happened?" Bow asked as he bends down to Adora. "Is she okay?"

Catra went to Adora, kneeling beside her. "I don't know! One moment I was enjoying my catnap, and then Adora just started yelling about Grayskull or whatever!"

Adora let out a small grown as she tried to get up, ignoring both of them. "I gotta go...save...Glimmer," she said between huffs before collapsing on the ground again. "My body is betraying me." Catra's stood up straight and looked down on Adora in annoyance.  _ Even when super tired, she refuses to stop being dramatic. _

"No, you're exhausted. That happens to regular people when they keep throwing themselves into battle and refusing to sleep." Bow explained next to Adora as she continued to lie there.

"I hate it," Adora said, moving her head to face them. Catra's heart ached at her depressed tone, and her hatred for Shadow Weaver only grew. One day, Catra was going to scratch Shadow Weaver's eyes out for what she has done to them, and there will be no one to stop her.

But for now, she let out a small sigh, bending down and picking Adora from her right shoulder while Bow helped Adora stand from the left. "Well, you'll hate this even more if you don't get some sleep and be even more exhausted the next day." 

"Catra's right," Bow said, helping Adora to her bed. "you just need some rest. Now, close your eyes and..."

"Is she dead?" Frosta asked from behind Catra and Bow, making them both jump a bit from their skin.

"What? No!" Bow shouted in annoyance.

"Okay, good," Frosta said, anxiously twiddling her fingers, "'cause Adora does all the planning, and we're wondering if there's a plan..."

"Listen, the upgrades to Mara's ship are done, but we can't go anywhere until Adora is back on her feet," Bow said as he bent down to Frosta's eye level. Adora opened her eyes when they called her name, and Catra swung her tail over her eyes to make sure they stay closed. "So, Adora, go to sleep, and now everyone will..."

Suddenly someone cut open a hole in the tent above Adora's head. "Did somebody say, Swift-" Bow slammed his hands over the horse's face to keep his volume down. Swift Wind finished his sentence in a lame mumble. Maybe now Adora will finally get some peace and quiet around here-

"Is Adora feeling better?" Micah asked as he barged into the tent. "Did you tell her about Prime's message-" Catra officially had it with them all.

"ENOUGH!" she yelled out before Adora could get up, making all the heads at the tent turn to her. She started pointing at all directions. "No one is asking Adora any more questions until tomorrow! Adora lay down, or I'll tell everyone embarrassing stories from our childhood. Swift Wind, make sure her head hits the pillow. Everyone else, out!" There was a long silence before Frosta raised her hand to ask one last question. 

"She will be fine soon, right?" she asked with concern.

"Yes," Bow answered, "She just. Needs.  ** Sleep ** !" Catra tried not to snicker at Bow's voice cracking.

Everyone exited the tent afterward, except for Bow, who stayed behind to ensure Adora's rest. Catra let out an annoyed sigh as she left Adora. Her blood was pumped with too much adrenaline to rest, so now she had to find something to help her let out some energy. Catra's datapad started to buzz from her pocket, and she let out a loud shriek as she read what was on it.  _ Finally, some good news! _

"What is it?" Bow asked as he ran out of Adora's tent, probably thinking someone had died from the sound Catra made.

Catra just grinned at him as she showed him what Entrapta had sent to them from Prime's ship. Bow's jaw almost hit the ground. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Oh, it definitely is," Catra said with glee, "Entrapta has finally found a way to signal us from Prime's ship. The signal is small, but I'm sure I'll be able to find its source in no time."

"That's great! I'm going to tell the princesses." Catra's ears fell in dismay. Bow looked at her oddly. "Is something wrong?"

Catra looked to said princesses, who were surrounding a bonfire. She could hear from what they were saying from where she was standing, thanks to her feline ears. They were trying to figure out ways to save Glimmer, and every idea was worse than the last. Mermista was just complaining, Frosta wanted to punch Horde Prime in the face with her ice fists, and Perfuma suggested to meditate to 'access their princess connection to find Glimmer's spirit out in space.' Only Scorpia remained silent in thought while petting Emily. 

Catra looked back at Bow with a pained expression. "Let's just say we don't really see eye to eye on  _ a lot _ of things."

"You guys have been working together for months. Can't you at least try to get along with them?" Bow asked wearily.

"Hey!" Catra shouted back offensively, "I've been trying to get along with them since I got here! They're the ones who don't want to work with me."

Bow let out a tired breath. "Look, can you please try again? I have to stay with Adora to make sure she doesn't try to escape again. It will do me a huge favor if you try to find the signal with them. Pleeease?" Bow let out his puppy dog's eyes in the hopes of persuading Catra into agreeing. She gave him a stink eye before letting out a shout of annoyance. 

Catra walked towards the campfire with the other princesses. Scorpia perked up at the sight of her and moved to make Catra space. "Catra! We were just talking about how to find Glimmer and Entrapta in space. Do you have any ideas that might help us?" Catra judged by Scorpia's tone that she hated all of their ideas, but didn't have the heart to say so.

Catra glared at the other princesses. "It's funny how Scorpia said you are all looking for both princesses, but so far, I only heard you guys talk about Glimmer."

Mermista let out a groan. "Entrapta betrayed us to the Horde, and you expect us to care about her as much? She probably already ditched us for Prime for his tech."

"She did use her inventions to attack us a lot," Perfuma added. Catra could feel her face get red from anger. From the corner of her eye, she could see Scorpia had got paler.

"Hey, now-" Scorpia tried to start, but Catra cut her.

"First of all, I convinced Entrapta into joining the Horde, so if you want anyone to blame betrayal on, blame it on me."

"Thanks, I'll just add that to a long list of things you did." Catra ignored Mermista's comment and carried on. 

"Secondly, if guys think these pathetic robots are Entrapta's doing, then you're dumber then you look. Entrapta is a genius who is hacking into Prime's computers and is sending us all the information she can without getting caught as we speak, and you think these boring bots are her doing? If they were really her creation, we would have been dead weeks ago!"

"Wait, can you repeat that last part-" Perfuma tried to ask, but Catra wasn't done yet.

"And finally, do you think it would have been easy to convince Entrapta you people left her behind if there wasn't already some factors before I found her? I mean, she told me you," Catra said as she pointed towards Mermista, "called her 'nerd princess' while you called everyone else by their name. And you," she said as she pointed towards Perfuma, "put her on a leash as if she was your pet! So don't go talking to me about 'the magic of friendship' until you pull your hypocritical stick out of your-"

"Hey, Catra, I think Imp is trying to eat one of the fireflies again," Scorpia said, interrupting Catra.

"Ugh, are you kidding me?" Catra asked in exasperation as she ran off from the group in search of Imp before he burns his tongue  _ again _ . She found him sitting by a small pond not far from the campfire, playing with the water while shrieking in delight. Catra didn't understand why Scorpia had sent her away until her ears picked up on her voice.

"Look, I know Catra can be a little bit too much, well, Catra, but she has been trying seriously so hard lately to be good. She has been taking care of Imp, she looked everywhere in the Fright Zone for scraps for Emily, and she even started taking technician lessons to help Bow fix Mara's ship! Shouldn't we give her a chance?" Catra blushed at Scorpia's words.  _ At least I have one princess on my side. _

"She burned down Saelineas, my home, and you're asking me to 'give her a chance' ?" Mermista's tone made Catra's hair stand up. " And don't give me that 'she changed' speech. She still wears that dumb crown headband as if she is still trying to rule Etheria or something." Catra touched her headband defensibly. It wasn't that stupid looking. 

"Besides," Mermista continued, "if what Shadow Weaver said about Catra is true, then there is no point to this. She is just going to fail this just as she failed, like, everything else in her life. It would be best if we left her out of our plans."

Catra's breath got caught in her throat. Those voices returned to her from before Prime's invasion, telling her how she will never be loved, how she will never succeed in anything in her life, and how she will always be Shadow Weaver's greatest disappointment. The world around her grew darker, and its noises grew too loud for her to bear. Imp tugged on her pants to check if she's alright, but her breathing got only harsher as she tried to calm herself down. Her breathing was apparently so loud that Scorpia heard all the way from the campfire. 

Scorpia tried to get up to see if she's alright, but Catra put her hand up to stop her. Catra made sure all the princesses looked directly in her eye as she took off her headband, throwing it on the ground and smashing it with her heel. She didn't bother to stay to hear the princesses' shouts and pleas.  _ It's time to get to work, with or without those stupid princesses. _

She ran off to her distant tent with Imp on her shoulder, took an antenna with her to track the signal, and tied her hair back to a ponytail. She ran out, following the message through her datapad while Imp carried the wire. Catra got to the spire closest to the camp, when she felt someone tap her shoulder. Catra jumped and let out a hiss, drawing out her claws, but calmed down after realizing it's a very breathy and sweaty looking Scorpia with the princesses behind her. 

"Boy, can you run fast," Scorpia said between huffs.

"What are you doing here?" Catra asked while she glared at them with crossed arms. Imp mimicked her in the hopes of looking intimidating.

Perfuma looked guilty before speaking up. "Catra, we owe you an apology. While you have hurt us in the past, you had proven to be a loyal member of the rebellion when you helped us with the last few missions. And  _ we, _ " Perfuma glanced at Mermista with her emphasis, "have realized how unfair we are being. Right, girls?" Frosta and Scorpia nodded their head in agreement. Mermista just glared.

"All I'm going to say is that breaking your weird crown thingy was a cool statement. And that's all you are going to get from me."

Catra glared at her right back. "Do I look like as if I care about what you think? Besides, you have to be super desperate to ask for my help."

Mermista let out a growl and summoned a wave. Scorpia stepped between her and Catra while laughing nervously. "Well, this is going great! So, what's the plan, Wildcat?"

Catra gave Mermista one last glare before speaking. "Seeing as none of you know how to track a spaceship, Entrapta has sent us a signal from Prime's vessel to help us find her. According to her, she sent it through Prime's announcement, using the transmission from the spire to hide her tinkering. Think of it like when you don't want anyone to notice you, so you hide in a crowd to get away faster from whatever you're running from."

"Like when you wanted to escape force captain orientation but couldn't because of the security cameras, so you faked a fire and ran off with the other force captains when the rest of the Fright Zone was distracted?" Scorpia asked.

"Exactly."

"Okay, so why hasn't she done this before?" Mermista asked impatiently.

Catra rolled her eyes. "Because Prime's communication center is super complex and advanced. It's a miracle Entrapta was able to send a message, to begin with. The only reason she was able to send us a way to find her is that Prime, in her words exactly, has a bigger ego then all of Etheria's moons combined and was too distracted by his own image to notice Entrapta's meddling. Any more questions?"

Perfuma raised her hand nervously. "Umm, can you please explain why we need to get closer to the highly guarded spire again? You know, the one that is surrounded by killer robots."

Imp slapped himself on the forehead while Catra threw her head down in annoyance. She let out a loud groan before lifting her head again. "We need to get closer to the spire to track Entrapta's signal because the connection will get stronger, and we will be able to locate Prime's ship." Catra replied slowly. The princesses all nodded smiled in understanding. Imp gave Catra a tired look as if to say, 'do we really have to work with them?' Catra gave him a sad nod while she scratched his chin.

Mermista stepped forward after the princesses finished their chatting. "That spire is crawling with surveillance bots. We need to find a way to sneak past them so we can get Catgirl close enough to track the signal."

Catra could feel her face get red from anger. "First of all, my name is Catra, not Catgirl. Secondly, who made you our team leader?"

"I don't know, Catgirl. Can you tell me who burned down Saelineas?"

Scorpia started to talk before Catra could respond. "So, what's the plan?"

Mermista looked taken back for a second. "Uh... that's the whole plan. We sneak past the surveillance bots." She let out a groan of frustration. "I don't know, Adora usually handles the being-in-charge stuff."

"Wow. Way to go, Fishbreath," Catra said with a smirk. "Adora would be so proud of you."

Mermista let out a snarl. Perfuma stepped out to try and calm down the tension. "Okay, we sneak past the bots, and then if any of them see us, we..."

"Punch the bots!" Frosta yelled as she created two ice fits.

Mermista shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, sounds like enough of a plan for me. Are you in, Catgirl?"

"Sure, Fishbreath." Catra went to the spire with Imp flying ahead of her, who made sure to hold the antenna high enough. Neither of them bothered to wait for the other princesses. Catra smirked at Mermista's groan, and Perfuma's high-pitched squeak of a swallowed scream as they ran to catch up with her. Catra knew that's not what Bow asked of her, but she couldn't help but take the mickey out of them. 

They ran into the area without a stop until a bot came their way. As they hid behind a boulder, Mermista looked out of more bots and messaged them to continue onward. Catra signed to Imp where to move on to with his antenna. They went deeper into spire's region, hiding behind another rock to make sure they weren't being seen. Catra's eye started to twitch out of impatience.  _ At this rate, it would take us days to get the signal. _

"There is no link here," she said restlessly, "we have to keep going."

Mermista let out the fifteenth groan of the day. "I hate the desert."

The group continued to run forward until Catra got a beep on her datapad. She stopped in her tracks with Imp right behind her. "Guys, we need to stop. I'm getting something here."

Perfuma stopped next to her. "Catra, we can't stay out in the open."

Catra ignored her and went to where the signal took her. Imp let out happy chirping noises as they got closer to the spot.

"Imp, I need you to fly higher. Maybe try to get to the top of the next fieldstone." Imp saluted Catra like a Horde soldier and flew off to the highest hill next to them. When the signal wasn't strong enough, she signed him to fly up higher.

A buzz told Catra enough. She glimpsed apologetically at Imp. "Sorry, Imp. False alarm. We still need to get closer to the spire." 

Imp let out a screech of annoyance as he flew down. But before he was out of sight, a nearby bot almost caught sight of him. Catra hurriedly pulled down Imp with the wire while Perfuma grabbed the robot with a vine and crushed it to the ground. The bot let out a quiet beep as it crumbled. Catra and Perfuma noticed Scorpia, Frosta, and Mermista looking at them anxiously from the other side of the field.

"What do we do?" Perfuma whisper asked them. 

Mermista started doing what looked like a parody of charades. Perfuma asked what they meant, but Mermista just continued with her weird arm gestures. Catra and Imp shared a tired glance before moving forward to the next location. 

Catra saw another bot coming her way, but before she could run away, Scorpia had sent that red lighting of hers to a nearby boulder, blowing off the top and distracting the bot. Catra gave her a nod and a smile of thanks. Instead of getting a smile back, Scorpia had sent her a panicked look while pointing west. Catra didn't understand why until she saw Imp walking on his own. Catra yelled out to Imp in alarm.

Imp either didn't hear Catra or decided to ignore her so he could find Entrapta's signal. He ended up bumping into a large surveillance bot. Catra could feel her heart in her throat. 

"Oh, hello," Imp said in Entrapta's voice, "You're very technologically advanced." Catra's jaw almost hit the floor.  _ When did she say that? And do I even want to know why? _

The bot analyzed Imp's with his ray and aimed his arm cannon at Imp's head when it was done. Imp let out a shriek before Frosta froze the bot in his place. The bot fell as it lost its balance.

"Come on!" Frosta yelled as she pulled Imp away from the fallen bot. He flew straight into Catra's arms, replaying 'Catra! Catra!' in Scorpia's voice. Catra hugged Imp closed to her, taking the antenna from him before he could run off again. Unfortunately, the peace didn't last long. The frozen bot wasn't destroyed fully and send a message to the spire to send more drones. The princesses regathered behind a different reef as Scorpia played lookout.

"What do we do?" Scorpia asked Mermista as she rejoined the group. The rest of the princesses looked at Mermista as well in the hopes of answers. Mermista groaned as she held her face in her hands.

"I don't know," she almost yelled out in frustration, "This plan was obviously doomed from the start. I'm not Adora. Why did I think I could be a leader?" Tears formed in Mermista's eyes. Catra tried to feel sympathetic, but there was one part in her rant that caught her attention.

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that all this time you've been trying to copy Adora?" Mermista's silence caused Catra to open her mouth in shock. "Are you kidding me? No one can act like Adora! She was literally brainwashed by Shadow Weaver her entire life into becoming a leader and believing that everyone's mistakes are her fault. Do you really want to be like?"

"Okay, I've had enough of this," Mermista said.

"Of what?"

"THIS!" Catra's ears fell at Mermista's voice. "You being 'buddy-buddy' with Adora! Just three months ago, you were ready to kill her and her  real  friends, and now you two are best friends again? Just tell us what you want to leave us alone!"

"Your aura has been confusing lately," Perfuma said, "Like there is something deep inside of you that wants to come out. It's not evil, but it is holding you back. I think it's about time you share it with us."

Catra looked at Scorpia for help, but Scorpia only looked down while fiddling her claws. Imp set next to her, tapping on her thigh to show support. Catra smiled at him, took a deep breath, and begun talking.

"When Bow first found me in the Fright Zone after Glimmer and Entrapta were taken, I did plan on joining Horde Prime's side. I thought I could climb my way onto the top again, just like with Hordak. I didn't see the point of staying with the rebellion in the long run anyway. After all, what you said about me was right. I ruin everything I touch. Who would even want me around?"

"Adora," Perfuma whispered, "Adora wanted you around, didn't she?"

Catra let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, she did. Even in the first few days when I hissed at everything and was just a general pain in everyone's side, she never gave up on me. I didn't understand why until I noticed how badly she wanted to be useful, or how she always heads first into danger without thinking. And then it struck me hard. That this was all Shadow Weaver's doing, she taught Adora that everything was her responsibility since she was young and that Shadow Weaver only loved her when she was useful to her. I thought Adora got off lucky all those years because Shadow Weaver didn't use any of her magic on her, or called her a failure or tried everything on her power so she'd stay a cadet. But the truth is, she is just as messed up as I am, and she wanted me around so she won't feel alone in her post-Shadow-Weaver-ness."

Catra took a deep breath in a desperate attempt to stop herself from crying. "I have failed Adora, and there is no other way to see this. I hurt her for years because I was too distracted by my own pity party to see she was just as damaged as me. I failed Entrapta when I sent her to Beast Island instead of listening to her, and now I failed them both again. Thanks to me, this place is about to be swimming with bots, and I couldn't even get that stupid signal! What you said about me was right. I really am a failure" The tears in the corner of Catra's eyes were threatening to leak as she put her head in her lap. Imp chirped at her side, touching her arm gently. "We should just retreat."

Mermita's eyes were suddenly full of fire. "We are not retreating."

All the other girls look at her in shock, and Catra lifted her head in confusion. 

"What?" Perfuma asked. 

"I said, we are not retreating," Mermista said fiercely. She looked at Catra without wavering. "And you are not a failure. I hate you  _ because  _ of how successful you were, remember? Saelineal wouldn't have fallen if you were a flop at everything, and you are going to get that signal."

Mermista took a sharp rock from her side and drew figures in the sand. "Catra, you will take Imp to the spire while Scorpia and Frosta will be exactly by your side. Perfuma and I will block any bots from getting closer to you from behind. That way, Catra will be covered both close-ranged and far-ranged. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah," Catra said, "When can we get started?" 

Mermista smirked as the other princesses nodded in agreement. Catra, Imp, Frosta, and Scorpia ran out into the field while Perfuma and Mermista stayed behind them. Four bots came to them from above. Scorpia nodded at Frosta before throwing the young girl up in the air. Frosta created four ice spears that perfectly hit the bots, causing them to fall from the sky. They continued to destroy bots from all sides until Catra and Imp finally reached the spire. Catra held Imp by the shoulders to make sure they are both seeing eye to eye.

"Imp, listen," She said sternly, "I know you are a chaotic little gremlin, that's one of the reasons why I like you. But right now, I need you so fully focus on getting this signal. Entrapta needs us to do this right. Can I trust you with this?"

"Entrapta needs us," he repeated back at Catra. Understanding that this is the closest thing she'll get to a yes, Catra gave Imp back the antenna. As Imp flew higher and higher, more bots have come out of the spire. Catra gave Mermista and Perfuma a scared look.

"Perfuma, cut off the entrance." Perfuma summoned vines at Mermista's order, trapping the bots inside the spire. Catra gave a sigh of relief before focusing back on the datapad.

"Nice job," she heard Mermista say.

"Thanks," Perfuma replied. "I wish there was enough water here for you, though."

"But there is. If there's one thing I know back in the Fright Zone, it's the sewer system." Catra covered her nose after understanding Mermista's implications. And judging from Scorpia's gagging noises and Frosta's childlike delight, she made the right choice.

"Almost..." Catra mumbled to herself. "Got it!"

She called Imp down and gave him a small banana piece she hid in her pocket as a reward for his help. She turned to the princesses. "Okay, so good news and bad. The good news, I have found Entrapta's signal, and I know where she and Glimmer are."

"Hooray!" Scorpia shouted.

"Bad news is, Entrapta has also transferred to us Prime's last order. He is sending more reinforcement ships to Etheria. They'll be here any minute."

"I take back my hooray."

"We have to contract Adora," Mermista said. Catra wordlessly gave her the datapad, having called Bow the second she read Entrapta's message.

"Hello?" Bow asked in confusion.

"Bow, we just got Entrapta's message. She showed where she is in space and told us Horde Prime is bringing in more ships. Take us to her tent now!" Catra could hear Bow run from wherever he was standing straight to Adora's tent. It took a few seconds before they could see Adora's face.

"Get to the ship!" Mermista screamed at her face. Catra face-palmed in the background before taking the datapad from Mermista.

"We found their location, but Prime is sending in more ships today. We have to leave now, or we won't be able to leave at all," she explained calmly as the group ran back to camp. The princesses and Catra ran back to camp as fast as they could. They came to Mara's ship at the same time as Adora, Bow, Micah, and Swift Wind.

"We're exposed here," Micah said while checking for any bots, "We need to make these goodbyes quick."

Adora looked at the princesses in a pained expression, not being ready to separate from them so soon. "We'll be back as soon as we can," she said as she hugged Mermista, "The rebellion is in good hands."

Mermista blushed and looked away from Adora. "Yeah, it turns out I'm an awesome leader, so we're going to be fine." She reached to hook her arm around Catra's neck. "I still hate you, but you did good today. We've got your back anytime."

Catra looked at the other princess as if to ask if it's true. She tried not to cry when they all agreed with Mermista's words. Bow cried for her when he pulled them all to a group hug, and Catra didn't even bother to seethe in false disdain.

They broke the hug when Swift Wind took Adora aside. Catra took that chance to hug Imp one last time. "I'm going to space with Adora and Bow so I could fix my mistakes, but it's too dangerous to take Imp with me. Can you look after him while I'm gone?"

Imp let out a distressed noise, not wanting to be separated from Catra. Perfuma took Imp gently away from Catra. "We'll make sure he is going to be taken care of. And Catra-"

Whatever Perfuma wanted to say was cut off by the sound of whirring from above.

"Surveillance bots. If they see the ship, they'll alert the armada and stop us," Frosta said, turning to the group in distress.

"What're we going to do?" Scorpia asked. "Are we gonna stay here?"

"No," Micah said, "We're getting this ship off Etheria, no matter what. I've got an idea."

Catra saw from the windows of the spaceship how the Princesses fought the bots while Micah illusioned into looking like She-Ra. As she made sure the rebellion distracted Horde Prime enough one last time, she went to the bathroom of the ship with a pair of scissors and a new uniform. Catra took a deep breath before taking the scissors and aimed them at her ponytail.

_ I think it's about time I'll make a big chance for myself. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all SO MUCH for your comments. You have no idea how much the helped me and motivated me to write. I seriously hope you all enjoy this chapter because I kind of wrote it for you guys.


	5. The Start of Forgiveness Part.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is my weakest chapter yet. At least now I can move on to episode three.

Entrapta ran in the corridors, hoping she'll be able to find Glimmer's cell in time. After calculating the clone's shift schedule and practicing her best 'force captain Catra' impression (for the sake of intimidation if things were to go awry), she knew she could probably get away with talking with Glimmer for a while.

Entrapta stopped running after detecting the faint green glow of the force field, and let out a breath of relief when she saw Glimmer walking in circles in her cell. She was just about to lower the force field, hoping to share some new discoveries that could help them escape and maybe catch up on things besides the current situation. Unluckily for them, a Wrong Hordak had stood behind her. Luckily, however, he just appeared before Entrapta could share her new findings.

"You should not be here," he said, "Prime has decreed that none shall speak to the queen. You have disobeyed."

Entrapta made sure to stand up straight before speaking and tried to perform Catra's best snarl. "Prime has given me permission to explore the Velvet Glove for an hour every day as I'd like to. Nothing that I have done has been out of what I was allowed. Besides, I'm just one Etherian. Prime has more important things to worry about-"

"You unworthy wretch! It is not for you to decide what matters to Prime." He screamed at Entrapta, lowering his back as if to make sure he'll spit at her face. Entrapta tried to take a step back, but the force field blocked her. "You are a parasite, nothing more than the dirt beneath his-"

The Wrong Hordak suddenly stopped mid-sentence, as his body tensed. He let out choking sounds as his spine rolled backward, and Entrapta wanted to cry out from the sound of his neck cracking. He came back with a blank face, and two white pupils appeared in his once fully green eyes. A cynical smile emerged with a more informal body language.

"My little genius," Prime's voice said, coming from the most likely a now broken Wrong Hordak, "why do you rebel against my commands?"

It took a few seconds for Entrapta to get her voice back. "I didn't rebel against anything. You said I'm allowed to do whatever I wanted besides escaping, and I wanted to see my friend."

Prime gave Entrapta a mocking glance disguised as pity. "You poor little Etherian. So badly consumed with emotions." He crunched down to Entrapta's level for the sake of uncomfortable eye contact. "As much as I'd like to provide you with everything you wish, the little queen must stay undisturbed. No run along now, for Prime sees all, and I don't think you'd like to get caught again now, would you?"

He finished his sentence by pocking Entrapta on the noise, and if Entrapta weren't frozen in fear, she would have punched him in the face again. _ Sweet space, when did my thinking get so violent? _

The Wrong Hordak's eyes returned to their normal. His face was more relaxed now, looking as if he's free of thought, but his body was completely rigid. Instead of continuing his insults, the Wrong Hordak wordlessly shoved Entrapta aside, lowered the force field of the cell, and took Glimmer out by the shoulder. Was this stiff numbness an aftereffect from being possessed by Prime? Entrapta shuddered at the thought.

Glimmer glanced at Entrapta while being pushed out of her cell by the Wrong Hordak. Entrapta lowered the cover on her face, not wanting anyone to see her tears, and pushed back all of her current emotions to focus on the task at hand. While Horde Prime was distracted with whatever he was plotting with Glimmer, Entrapta could take this chance to examine Glimmer's cell.

The cell itself was white, with a bed in the other end of the room and a table on it's left. The table had two pens and a blank notepad. Even though it was a large room with a high ceiling, it still felt suffocating. However, the thing that caught Entrapta's eye the most was the room's lack of security cameras or voice detectors. It seems Entrapta's hypothesis was correct - Horde Prime puts too much faith in his powers to build any kind of necessary spotters in the Velvet Glove. For a man who claims to be a genius, he is the biggest idiot Entrapta has ever met.

Entrapta heard footsteps coming to the cell and rolled under the bed while pulling the sheets to one side, making sure her silhouette was hidden from the door. Entrapta waited until she heard the force field activate again, and moved away from the bed after checking if only Glimmer were in the cell.

"Entrapta-?" Glimmer was going to ask before Entrapta quickly hushed her by throwing a strand of hair to her mouth. She moved to the force field, noting if there was no one in the hall. Entrapta let out a breath as she relaxed her shoulder and freed Glimmer's mouth.

"Entrapta, what are you doing here?" Glimmer asked. "Didn't you hear what Prime said? You can get hurt if they catch you with me."

"First of all, lethal threats had never stopped me from doing what I want, and they definitely won't stop me now," Entrapta started, "Secondly, I have monitored the guard schedule of your cell, and I know for sure we're not going to get caught. In fact, if I combine the time I have left from my free hour a day with the shift changes, we should have about thirty minutes of free time for talking!"

"Talking?" Glimmer asked suspiciously. "Talking about what?"

"Our escape plan, of course! Did you really think I was going to let us stay here forever?"

Glimmer looked taken back as if she hadn't even thought of that, which confused Entrapta. _ Why does she look so shocked by this? _ _ Doesn't she want to escape? _

"I thought you wanted to work with Prime. He has all of this amazing tech, after all." Glimmer's words felt like a slap to Entrapta's face. "And you didn't even tell me my dad is alive! Both of you were sent to Beast Island. You had to know he was there!"

Entrapta tried to answer Glimmer, but her rapid breathing didn't allow her to talk. Glimmer reached out a hand - an attempt at a kind gesture if Entrapta wasn't mistaken. Entrapta stopped her with her hair, slammed her mask on her face, and used those breathing lessons she taught as a kid to get her composure back. Entrapta removed her mask again before talking to Glimmer. 

"I will never, ever, work with Prime. His technology is cruel and empty. Science is supposed to help the world move forward with each and every new discovery. It's supposed to be full of emotion and beauty. Prime's tech is the exact opposite of that. His science forces stop the world from moving forward in a weak effort to control nature itself. Why would I ever want to work with someone so heartless?"

"You worked with Hordak for two years. He seemed pretty heartless to me."

Entrapta worked to keep her temper in check before proceeding. "All Hordak wanted to do is to open a portal so he could see his family again. While his weapons were destructive, they were never a crime against the laws of the universe. If he were as nearly as awful as Prime, I would have never helped him in the first place. And I can prove this because the one time I did try to stop someone from acting like Prime, I was sent to Beast Island as a result."

Glimmer now looked regretful at her harsh words and stared at the floor in shame. "I didn't even think of that."

"Yeah, it was obvious you didn't," Entrapta said in a playful tone, and yet Glimmer still looked like she was going to cry.  _ Oh Shoot, did I mess up my pitch again? _ "This was a joke! I didn't mean to make you feel bad."

Glimmer shook her head as she wiped her tears. "No, it's okay. I've just had to learn a lot of things in the last hour. Can we go back to my question about why you didn't tell me about my dad?"

"Oh, right!" Entrapta took a second before answering to make sure all of her thoughts were in order. The last thing she wanted was to do unnecessary info dump. "I didn't tell you about your dad because I thought you wouldn't have believed me. I mean, I already stated how much I care about Hordak. And with how much you hate him for all the things he did, I concluded that if I told you, you would think I'm telling lies so you will hate Hordak less. Therefore, I planned to tell all the beneficial qualities he possesses, which will help with our escape plan so I could convince you to take him with us."

"Oh. I guess that's fair." Glimmer looked up at Entrapta after a pause. "So, about that escape plan?"

"Right! Okay, so you know how only the clones can open and close the doors?"

"Yes?"

Entrapta let out a small squeal of excitement. "Well, not anymore! I can open the door myself now! It took me a while, but now I'm free to go wherever I want, to some extent."

"Entrapta, that's great." Glimmer looked confused after listening to Entrapta. "But what do we need Hordak for now?"

"Oh, several reasons." Entrapta lifted her hair and counted the reasons on its strands. "One, Prime's clones have above-average strength, and the extra manpower will be helpful. Two, I haven't been able to get close to Prime's mini spaceships, and as a result, I don't know how to operate them, so we'll need a clone for that. And while I have been able to open some doors, others are harder to unlock. There are a few that only a clone can open up, so we'll need him for that, too. And finally, I just really miss my lab partner." Entrapta couldn't finish the last sentence without blushing. "And speaking of Hordak, I think you're the only way I will be able to find him."

"What? Why?"

"Because I have analyzed the clones' shifts and duties, and it seems that Hordak's is the one that always changes. You see, which clone has its own secret quality that even they are aware of. I already met a few that I can recognize, but it's only Hordak I haven't been able to 'pump into.' I think Prime has been keeping him from me on purpose."

"And how will I be able to tell him different from the rest? They all look the same."

Entrapta shifted on her feet, not being sure if she should tell her. Hordak did hate it when people knew of his imperfections. She settled on telling Glimmer now and facing Hordak's wrath afterward. "Hordak has his species version of a skin condition that causes the skin to lose its color. If you were to roll up his sleeve, most of his arm would be white instead of blue. He also suffers from an unknown chronic pain disorder, so check for any kind of possible tissue scars since he always overworked himself while ignoring his illness and refused my help until he physically collapsed!" Entrapta yelled out in frustration as she finished, surprising herself as a result.  _ Huh. I guess I'm not over that yet. _

Glimmer stood in front of Entrapta without moving. With her open mouth and still standing, she looked like a bot that short-circuits.

Entrapta fiddled with her fingers and hair nervously. "Sorry, did I talk too much again?"

"NO!" Glimmer said quickly and loudly. "No, I mean, you did near the end. But I'm just mostly taking everything in. Like I said, I found out about a lot of things today, and I need some time to take it all in."

"Well, the timing's great because a Wrong Hordak is supposed to give you your dinner now, so I should get going." Entrapta waved as she let down the force fields. "Bye!"

"Wait!" Glimmer shouted before Entrapta could exit the cell. "I know this sounds pathetic, and you probably don't want to do it after what I to you, but can I please get a hug? I really need one from a friend right now."

Entrapta stopped where she stood, not believing this moment had actually happened. She couldn't remember being this happy in her life. Unfortunately, Glimmer took the stillness has rejection and slowly backed away. Entrapta took Glimmer's hand and threw her into a hug. 

"No one had ever asked me for permission before," Entrapta whispered in Glimmer's ear as she hugged her tightly. "People always forced me into affection. They said that this is normal, and I hated that 'normal' so much. So thank you for being different."

Entrapta wiped both their tears when she finished the hug and went for the door. She looked from left to right, making sure there was no one in the hall and dashed through the corridors after noticing their emptiness. It was only after she reached her own cell when she felt the small folded paper in her pocket. It was written rapidly in Glimmer's handwriting.

"Because of my stubbornness, I can't apologize without making myself the victim. But I want you to know that I am truly sorry for what I have said to you, and I hope one day I'll be a good enough queen to apologize loudly and proudly."

For the first time in weeks, Entrapta allowed herself to weep.


	6. Old Memories, New Strenghs Part.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small update: I'm going away to a friend's house this weekend so the next chapter will come a little late. I hope this is going to be enough for now.

Catra dodged another attack from Adora, flipping backward and drawing out her whip. They have been out in space for a few days by now, and to say both girls were restless was an understatement. Both were training in the main room of the ship while Bow took control of the navigation. 

Several holograms appeared before Bow talked as they all showed different globe-shaped maps. "We're getting closer to the signal Entrapta triangulated. We should reach Glimmer in the next - What are you guys doing?" Bow screeched

Catra let out a small 'oops' as she scratched one of the metal panels after getting pushed by Adora. She gave him an apologetic smile.

Bow did not smile back. "What are you guys doing? You can't tear the ship apart while we're inside the ship! Did you forget about, I don't know, the crushing void of space?"

"Well-" Catra tried to start.

"That was a rhetorical question," Bow said tiredly. Adora leaned on the floating chair, accidentally hitting it with her staff. She gave Bow a small sorry.

Bow looked as if he was ready to throw hands. He grabbed Catra by the arm, pulled her from the metal panels to the middle of the room, and forced her to stand still. "You stand there." He went and grabbed Adora by her sleeve and brought to where Catra was standing, forcing her to stand still as well. 

Bow took a deep breath before talking. "We have to keep this ship intact until we reach Glimmer and Entrapta, and that means you two can't fight in here anymore. So until we get to Prime's ship, try to find a new hobby that won't damage our only chance to save our friends."

Catra opened her mouth to argue, but the ship's worrying rumble brought her to a stop.

"Diagnostics revealed a prob...problem," the ship's computer said weakly, "My user interface will now shut down to conserve energy. Goodbye."

Bow protested loudly and stressfully as the computer closed itself, leaving an eerie silence in the room. To make matters worse, the ship's lights went out and stopped in the middle of nowhere.

"Soooo," Catra said to Bow, "What's the plan now, o' mighty ship captain?"

Bow let out a tired sigh before turning to the girls. "I'm going to check what's the problem with the ship. Catra, I need you to turn on our emergency power generator. It's sad we have to turn it on so soon, but I guess I'll live with it. Adora, please don't touch anything that seems to run any kind of electricity."

"I promise not to move or touch or break anything." Catra snickered to herself at Adora's promise. _That girl is a walking disaster when it comes to machinery. She will probably destroy something by sneezing at it._ Catra blushed while remembering Adora's clumsiness, before shaking her head and going down the ship's vents. She knew Bow would have wanted her to go there on foot, but this way was more fun.

Catra had just found the power generator when she heard Bow shout in alarm. Panicking, she climbed up the vents, praying to herself that Adora didn't somehow get herself killed. Only to let out the biggest laugh in weeks. 

Instead of finding her in some moral peril, Catra found Adora taped to a wall with several thick wires. She didn't even bother to ask how Adora got in this situation.

"What are you doing?" Bow asked.

"I have everything under control." Adora's answer only made Catra laugh even harder. It took her a few good seconds to calm down.

"That's not what I asked." Bow said. He grabbed Adora's foot, trying to pull her out of her tangled mess. "I told you not to touch anything. It's bad enough we don't have Entrapta here to help with the ship, we don't need any more problems."

"Bow, I know you think you need Entrapta, but you are doing alright without her," Adora said as she pushed the wires back to the computer. "You are a tech master too, stop selling yourself short. You were the one who fixed the ship, remember?"

"Yeah, but that was because I followed Entrapta's instructions," Bow mumbled, "Besides, these upgrades are why the ship stopped working."

"What? Why?" Catra asked. "We followed everything through."

"That's the problem." Bow showed Catra and Adora his datapad to explain himself. "The ship's model is very old and can't handle most of the upgrades we gave it. They suck too much power. I have calculated the biggest burdens, and we are going to have to shut down either the shields or most of the ship's guns."

"The guns." Catra's answer surprised them both. She gave them a look in irritation. "It's one thing not having weapons to defend ourselves, but it's another not having any protection from our enemies. It would be best if we keep the shield. Taking it away will make us too vulnerable."

Bow nodded his head in understanding, but still look distressed. "While I do agree with what you just said, there is one major problem. The only way we can disable the guns is from the outside. One of us will have to get out there and cut the cables themselves."

"I can go without a problem," Catra confessed. "I have been going out in the open for a while now, mostly when I can't sleep or have bad dreams. It's surprisingly relaxing."

Adora looked as if she wasn't sure if she wanted to hit Catra or hug her tightly. "Catra, you can't just throw yourself into the empty void of space because you don't feel like dealing with your sleeping habits. And we didn't even know if our spacesuits were ready yet for that. You could have died out there!"

Catra's ears folder back in annoyance. "Oh, sorry if I don't want to take advice from you miss 'I fight in my sleep so badly that I painfully kick the person next to me out of bed'! Besides, the spacesuits are fine. We tested them before we left."

Adora wanted to argue, but Bow cut her off. "Wait, she used to fight in her sleep even back then?"

"Yep," Catra confirmed, "And I have the scars to prove it. I always knew the dreams were bad if she starts to kick her left leg."

"That was because I didn't like being alone when I woke from nightmares, so I kicked you to be awake with me. And at least I didn't put too many fireflies in my tent, and ended up setting it on fire!" Adora shouted back at Catra. 

"I did that because shadows scare me. I can't be surrounded by them without feeling like Shadow Weaver would appear out of them and hurt me!" Adora's mouth gapped, and Bow stood dumbfounded between the two as the awkward silence from Catra's confession settled. He broke the tension by taking an earpiece out of his pocket and bringing it to Catra.

"As much as I would like to discuss what both of you just confessed, we have a major issue to focus on right now," Bow said as he showed Catra the blueprints. "I'm going to open the guns from their hatch, but with the ship's lack of power right now, I will only be able to open each for five minutes. The first one will be stressful, but all of them have the same wiring. The minute you get the first one done, all the others will be done within seconds. Got it?"

"Got it." Catra went to her room to change into her spacesuit. She grabbed a rope and blowtorch to help her out, as per Entrapta's notes recommended. Adora stood at the bay door with a worried expression as she opened the ship. Catra gave her a grin before jumping out.

"Catra?" Bow's voice said in Catra's earpiece. "Do you copy?"

"Do I copy?" Catra sniggered. "What, I'm in space, and now we are going to do nerd talk?"

"Well, at least we know that the emptiness of space doesn't affect her attitude." Catra couldn't stop snickering at Adora's bitter tone.

"Catra, I'm going to open the hatch on your lower right. Go there as fast as possible." Catra saw the small door open. She used the blowtorch and flew to the doorway without a sweat, and opened the top metal panel with her claws. The number of colorful wires made Cartra's head spin.

"Bow, I'm going to need some help here."

"Don't worry," Bow said, sounding weirdly calm. "I have the models of the firearms on my datapad, and I can see the problem. Use your claws to cut the green wire on the front. When you're done with that, cut the purple wire on the far left."

"Done. What's next?"

"Yellow, black, orange, and red, in that specific order. The blue wire is fragile and will explode in your face if you cut it, so please try your best not to touch it."

"Noted," Catra audibly gulped at the thought. She cut the wires in order as she spoke. "Hey, Bow, how come you're taking this situation so smoothly? You looked like you were ready to faint before I left Darla."

"I honestly don't know. I think acting like a tech master just gives me the assurance I was missing before." Catra could see Bow smile from where she was floating. For some unknown reason, knowing he was feeling better made her happy. "I'm going to open the next one on your lower left. Be ready."

"Aye, aye, captain." Catra continued to cut the cables just like the previous gun she refused. "And just so you know, having this calmness in the face of danger is the signs of a tech master. And I know this because I learned this from Entrapta." Catra felt weirdly light when she heard Bow happy gasp.

All was going smoothly until the last firearm, the one on her upper right, where she accidentally cut the blue wire. A small distressed gasp left her lips as she started to hyperventilate.

"Catra, listen to me very carefully," Bow said in her ear, probably figuring out the worst as happened from her breathing. "You have fifteen seconds before it blows up. Run now!"

Catra tried to get away as fast as possible, but the explosion still got to some parts of her. She let out a cry as the heat torched her skin. Thankfully, Adora and Bow were waiting for her in the entrance to the ship, pulling her by her rope and shutting the door close the second Catra got in. Catra tried to find her voice again while Adora tearfully hugged.

"Adora, I don't think I like the emptiness of space anymore." Adora laughed tearfully at Catra's words.

"Don't worry," she said kindly, "I'm sure we'll find something new that will help with your sleeping problems."

"And don't worry about the exploded gun," Bow added, "I'll fix that tomorrow. Right now, I think we all just need some rest and hot chocolate." Catra tried to calm her mind, but there was one question that needed answering.

"What's hot chocolate?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of planned on writing two paragraphs of Bow's reaction to Catra's question, but they felt very out of place and unneeded. Should I write his reaction as a one-shot instead?


	7. Old Memories, New Strenghs Part.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will forever be unsatisfied by the chapter. I can feel like there is something missing. Eh, I hope you guys at least like it.

_Glimmer transported herself into a distant closet in Brightmoon, trying to keep her tears back. She was a princess, ten years old, and she shouldn't be crying like a little girl. And it was all stupid Bow's fault anyway._

_"Glimmer?" She heard Bow call out. "Glimmer, come out. I know you didn't mean to hit our new friend with glitter. It's okay, I'll tell them. Your mom won't be mad. But first, you gotta tell them you're sorry."_

_Glimmer ignored Bow and tried to teleport herself out of the room. Unfortunately, for some annoying reason, her powers refused to work. To make things worse, the sparks that did escape her made the room glow and showed Bow where she was._

_He gave her a small smile as he entered the room and sat on the floor beside her. "We were all just having fun. You didn't have to do it. Why did you do it anyway?"_

_Glimmer let out a shriek and used her anger to transport herself out of Bow's reach. She knew he wouldn't understand. But Bow didn't back down._

_"Come here," he said while reaching out his hand, " You know how dangerous it is when you're too emotional to use your powers. Can we please just talk?"_

_Glimmer looked stubbornly at the floor, refusing to look Bow in the eye. She stiffly lifted her hand, unclenching her fits, ready to take Bow's hand-_

* * *

Glimmer woke up from that memory with a soft gasp, slowly realizing she subconsciously raised her arm while dreaming. She angrily hit the wall closest to her, refusing to let the frustrated tears escape. _I can't forget what I ruined even in my sleep!_

Glimmer quickly wiped her eyes after hearing a knock at the force field for a door. It was one thing crying, but it was a whole other having your enemy see you cry.

"Glimmer?" Entrapta's voice was the biggest relief Glimmer could have hoped for at the moment. "Are you awake? Can we talk?"

"Yes!" Glimmer yelled out. "Yes, I'm up. You can lower the force field."

Entrapta lowered the door cell, and Glimmer's heart was caught in her throat. Even with the visor covering her face, Glimmer could see how pale her skin was, and her shaking shoulders only added to Glimmer's anxiety. It was awhile before Entrapta spoke.

"Prime destroyed another planet today. He forced me to watch because he thought it would show off his glory. It was a revelation I was able to hold in my tears before he dismissed me." Glimmer felt like weeping herself. She couldn't imagine being forced to watch something as awful.

Entrapta started to weep as she continued. "I couldn't do anything! He grabbed my shoulder and made sure I wouldn't be able to look away. I had to watch at least eight million lives destroyed, and he didn't allow me to take a break! And now, every time a Wrong Hordak comes near me, I feel like throwing up! How could he do this without feeling empty?"

Glimmer didn't know what to say. She knew Entrapta long enough to understand how physical touch is the last thing she would want right now. Glimmer decided on lying against the field, slowly sliding down to the floor while trying to come up with a subject change. Entrapta saw what Glimmer was trying to do, and slid down the ground so they'll be back to back.

"So," Glimmer tried to start, "what would you be doing if you were back on Etheria right now and not, you know, a prisoner on an alien ship?"

Entrapta let out a watery laugh. "I would probably check on Dryl and my robots. Eat all the tiny foods in the world with some fizzy drinks. Maybe even invent some new ships for us to use if another person like Prime shows up. Oh! And introduce Hordak to our friends. I have a feeling he would get punched a lot if I don't help him out." Glimmer giggled at that. She might not know Hodrak well, but she is sure he is not a people's person. "And would you do if you were back home?"

Glimmer stopped giggling, feeling her mood darken. A small and sad smile appeared on her face. "I guess maybe... Maybe I'd go teleport all over Etheria, visiting our friends in their kingdoms. I need to make sure I didn't ruin too much of their life." She let out a sad chuckle before continuing. "But if it were a really perfect day, Bow, Adora, and I would have a sleepover. We'd raid Brightmoon's Kitchen for cake, and then we'd eat it with our hands right off the plate. We would laugh and cry, and I would apologize for everything..."

They let the silence linger after Glimmer finished until Entrapta spoke up. "I know you might feel like everything is your fault, but it isn't. Sure, you made some errors, but not everything is because of you. The more you let the guilt linger, the more Prime wins." Glimmer turned to Entrapta in shock. How was Entrapta able to read her so well?

Entrapta gave her one last grin before turning away. " You're not the only one who's feeling as if she ruined everything. Your breakfast is about to arrive, and it will be best if I'll go. Bye!" She brought up the force field, making sure it looked as if no one was there and ran towards the corridors.

Glimmer wanted to shout out to her but kept herself in check. The last thing they needed was to get caught. And Entrapta was correct about the breakfast arrival. Not even five minutes after Entrapta disappears, a Wrong Hordak appear with her tray. Glimmer looked at the clone uneasily, not sure if she could take the risk. 

According to Entrapta's assumptions, the disgraced clones are usually handled with servant duties while the more honored clones who lingered longer get to work right beside Prime. If Entrapta is right about that, and if her theory about Hordak being kept purposely away from her is correct, this servant clone could be the Hordak. But if he isn't, then Glimmer could end in bigger trouble then she could even imagine...

Glimmer shook her head forcefully and scolded herself. _No! Enough with the doubts. Entrapta has been endangering herself for Etheria since she got here, and the least you can do is do to the same for once!_ She took a deep breath and reached out for Wrong Hordak's sleeve. Glimmer couldn't stop herself from gasping.

His arm looked awful, with some of its skin color looking as if it's been vigorously washed out, and his skin was so thin she could see his entire bone. Hordak quickly covered his arm.

"Hordak," Glimmer said softly, "That's you, right?"

Hordak grunted. "Do not say that as if it has any meaning to me. We clones take pride in our servitude. Do not make me force you into silence."

Glimmer didn't back down. "Listen, Hordak. Prime has been lying to you. Entrapta is alive, I saw her myself, and-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY HER NAME, YOU FILTHY ETHERIAN!" Hordak roared as he slammed Glimmer's tray at a wall, showing his sharp teeth and claws. All the bravery she had a second ago had disappeared. Glimmer backed away from Hordak, not seeing Entrapta's lab partner, but the monster that took her father away. 

Hordak was ready to start yelling again until he stiffed in pain. Glimmer could tell from his misery that Prime is taking over him. Hordak fought back a bit before a white pupil appeared in each eye. Glimmer was getting more and more distressed.

"Little Queen," came Prime's voice from Hordak's body, "Why must you torture my little brother like this? Don't you know he can only see his beloved scientist once they are both worthy?" Glimmer's heart was in her throat. She didn't know what caused her more panic - Prime possibly catching them in the act, or his definition of worthiness.

Glimmer tried to think of something that would sound both in character while sounding 'Etherian' enough to fool Prime. She looked at the floor like an annoyed child in the hopes of looking pathetic. "Hordak is the reason why I thought my dad was dead. He took him from me, and it forced me to rule my Kingdom alone. I just...I just wanted Hordak to feel what I've been through, you know?"

Prime hummed curiously. " I see now. It would make sense that you would crave revenge after what my little brother has put you through. Don't worry, little Queen. I'll make sure you'll have exactly what you wished for." Hordak's eyes went back to normal after Prime finished. He picked up the tray and gathered all the leftovers, not even glancing back at Glimmer as he left her alone. Prime's ominous words made her feel as if she's going crazy from stress. She needed to find a way to calm down and fast. 

Unluckily, Glimmer didn't have time to calm down. It was ten minutes later when another clone came and took Glimmer to a room she's hadn't seen before. It was dark, especially compared to the other places in Prime's ship, with several clones standing on both ends of it, and Prime standing straight at its center. In the middle of the room was a green liquid pool, and its lack of smell scared Glimmer even more. All of the clones' eyes glowed in the dark, adding more to the dark atmosphere. The further Glimmer walked into the room, the more she wanted to run away in fear.

She tried to stop shaking as Prime spoke to her. "Thank you for joining us, little Queen." Glimmer gulped at his tone. "I have been scouring, searching for She-Ra, but what I seek is not yet to be found." The screen behind Prime glowed and showed a small mark leaving Etheria, quickly closening on the spot and revealed a First One's ship. _Oh no._

"A ship of such ancient design that is not detectable by my instruments. How could this be?"

Glimmer looked away from the screen. "I don't know. Adora and I had a serious fight before you took me away from them. Trust me. I'm the last person you would know what they're up to."

Prime hummed. " Our little genius said the same thing in different words. She said how they all saw her as a tool, and thus told her nothing of their plans. Either you two had found a way to plan behind my back, or you Etherians aren't as loyal as you claim to be."

Glimmer angrily turned her to Prime. " 'Prime sees all. Prime knows all.' You said that yourself. Entrapta betrayed Brightmoon, and I will never trust her again. Stop degrading us both because of your paranoia." _Please buy this. Please buy this. Please buy this._

Prime frowned in mock pity. Glimmer wanted to glitter bomb his face. " Oh, look at you, poor little Queen. These emotions, these disturbances. I can see how much pain they bring you. They cause nothing but suffering and failure. Don't you want to be free of them? There is another way. Let me show you."

Before Glimmer could ask what that means, Prime had ordered a clone from the back to him. "Step forward."

The clone from behind Glimmer knelt in front of Prime and bent down his head in shame. Prime continued. "You spoke with our honored guest this morning, did you not, brother? What was it that she said to you?" Glimmer was confused. Doesn't Prime already know? What's the point of this?

"She... gave me a name. Forgive me, bother." Hordak's pained tone made Glimmer pale even further. It wasn't his fault. Why was he apologizing? "Please take this affliction away from me." _Oh no. Oh, sweet Etheria, please no._

Glimmer looked from Hordak to Prime as the latter knelt down in front of the former. Prime took Hordak's head in his hands, almost looking as if he's cradling it. "Those who seek freedom will be granted it." Glimmer was two seconds away from covering her face like a child.

"Cast out the shadows. Cast out the shadows," The clones around them chanted. Prime and Hordak both rose from the floor. Just as Glimmer thought this couldn't get any worse, Hordak gave Glimmer one last look before moving into the green pool. His expression was going to haunt her for the rest of her life. She couldn't remember the last time she has seen someone look so defeated.

Hordak swam into the middle of the pool as it began to glow. Electricity started to enter the water, making it radiate even brighter. Hordak trembled from the pain, lifted his head to the ceiling, and **screamed**. His screamed echoed with the chants of the clones, and the room wobbled. Our was it Glimmer's head?

"I am sorry that you must suffer," Prime said to Hordak before regarding Glimmer. "But, his suffering is thanks to you."

Glimmer wanted to fight back, but all her energy as sucked out of her. The clones around them sang a new chant ("All beings must suffer to become pure"), and Hordak's screaming finally came to a stop when a puff of dark green smoke exploded from the pool. Hordak twisted his body to face Prime, and Glimmer fell to her knees. Hordak's eyes were white, and his face showed no emotion. How could anyone see this as purity and not torture?

"Behold the purest among you," Prime said as helped Hordak out of the pool. "One to be honored."

"Yes!" The clones around them chanted as they knelt on the ground, sounding like haunted ghosts. Their voices echoed even louder than before. The smell of burned skin was added to the mix, and it was in the moment that Glimmer fainted.

She subconsciously remembered being carried by two clones to her room and only woke up by the sound of shouting from the outside of her cell. Several yells were silenced within seconds, and Glimmer picked her chair to attack. Instead of some rogue clone opening the force field, a distressed Entrapta with several floating hairs helped her out and put a fancy-looking staff in Glimmer's hands.

"We have to leave," Entrapta practically screamed, "Now!"

Glimmer didn't waste any time and flew out of her cell. "Entrapta, what's going on? Why are we running away now?"

"Because we're out of time!" Entrapta screeched as they ran down the corridors. "I have just found out what Prime's next plan is by hacking into his blueprints, and if we don't make sure you get out today, Etheria is doomed."

Glimmer gulped. "What is it? Some kind of new tech?"

"It's much worse than some 'new tech.' It's something new that Prime has designed specifically for us. We have to get out of here to warn the others before it's too late! Oh, and if you're wondering, I'm taking you to the transportation pods Prime uses to send the Wrong Hordaks to battle." Well, at least that was one question answered.

The turned around another corner when four clones surrounded them. Entrapta didn't wait before aiming her hair at all sides and knocking all the clones down. Glimmer opened her mouth in shock. _I am never going to underestimate her again._

"I'm really sorry about this, but we're kind of in a hurry," Entrapta said to the clones as she pulled Glimmer away from the bodies. They ran a bit longer when the ship turned on its alarm and red warning lights.

Entrapta looked stressfully at her datapad. "Thanks to the hivemind, we now have less the time then I had originally wanted. We can still make it, but it's not going to be easy."

Glimmer scuffed. "That's just the Best Friend Squad usual. We go in, try to be nice, and then we somehow end up setting everything on fire."

Entrapta laughed loudly, and Glimmer's heart bloomed at the sound. Their happiness quickly turned into ash when a whole army of clones appeared on their way to freedom. Entrapta tried to fight them off with her hair as Glimmer fought them with the staff, but it wasn't enough. The clones kept coming, and Glimmer could see how Entrapta was getting tired. Glimmer was ready to give up until she heard the sound of children laughing. She turned her head and saw young Glimmer and Bow, playing together and smiling. Young Bow looked up at Glimmer as her heart squeezed in her chest. 

"I'm always going to be your friend," he said to her. Glimmer suddenly felt a rush of things going through her: homesickness for Brightmoon, anger at their situation, the joy of seeing at least one version of Bow. But most importantly, she felt **her magic again**.

"Where is the transportation room?" Glimmer asked.

"It's right up ahead. Why are you-" Entrapta didn't get to finish her sentence as Glimmer used the last of her magic to teleport them to their needed location. Entrapta looked at Glimmer in shock before letting a squeal of excitement.

"That was amazing! How did you do it? I thought you ran out of juice weeks ago! Maybe the studies of the connection between emotional health and magical capabilities genuinely do have some merit to them-."

"Entrapta," Glimmer said as she cutter her off by grabbing her by the shoulders. "As much as I'd like to study my condition better, we have more important things to take care of right now."

Entrapta looked at Glimmer with embarrassment. "Right. Sorry. I'll get to that," she said as she pushed Glimmer to the transporter's middle circle as she gave her Glimmer her datapad. Entrapta moved to the control panel and clicked on a few keys. The transporter's black floor glowed green with its force field blocking Glimmer from the outside. 

"Entrapta, you do have a way to come with me, right?" Glimmer asked worriedly.

Entrapta clenched her fits on the control board. "I couldn't. Prime made sure that only one person at a time can be transported. I wouldn't be surprised if another prisoner had successfully escaped Prime's ship before, and this code was added as a result."

Glimmer's eyes widen. "Entrapta, you can't do this-"

"Not now, I'm trying to connect Adora." Entrapta proceeded to push multiple keys when the clones started to barge through the doors. Thankfully, Adora answered the transmission right on time.

"Hello? Adora?" Entrapta meekly.

"Entrapta?" Bow asked back, and Glimmer was ready to cry just from the sound of his voice.

"Bow's there too? Is there anyone else?"

"Yes!" Catra yelled, and Glimmer couldn't hide her shock. Why was someone as backstabbing as Catra with them? "And don't you go anywhere because we're coming to get you."

"You actually came for me," Entrapta whispered to herself. She smiled sadly to herself. "Unfortunately, you won't be able to save me. We can only send one person through, and I chose Glimmer for all of us. Etheria already has Bow as the new tech master, so I'm not fully needed as much anymore. But Etheria will always need a queen of Brightmoon. In conclusion, I have decided to bring Glimmer to you with my data about Prime's plans. I don't know your exact location, but I can get her to your quadrant. You have to be there to catch her."

"Wait, wait, wait, what?" Adora asked in pure confusion.

"Entrapta, we don't understand," Bow added. "What's going on? Why can't you wait for us?"

"Because Prime is planning something big, and you want to avoid it by sending Glimmer to us." Glimmer could feel Catra's anger from here. "Entrapta, there is no way any of us are going to let you go through with this!"

"Catra's right!" Adora said. "No princesses left behind. I said it before and I still stand by it. We are going to find a way to save you both, I swear on it!"

More clones had come to pry the door open before Bow added more noise. Glimmer could tell Entrapta in pain from the stress. "Both Adora and Catra are right. We are not going to selfishly leave you behind again! We need you, no matter what Prime had said to you and we're-"

"ENOUGH!" Entrapta shouted on top of her lungs. The only sound remained was those of the grunting clones and the alarms. Entrapta breathed heavily before speaking.

"It doesn't matter what you want now. Etheria needs Glimmer back, it needs its She-Ra too, and I am going to do what needs to be done to make sure Prime goes down."

The clones had entered the room just as Entrapta finished her short speech. Entrapta screeched as she typed rashly on the board and fought off the clones at the same time. Glimmer started to glow green like the floor and began to cry out to Entrapta one last time.

"Entrapta!" She shouted through the action. "I'm sorry! For everything!"

The world around her turned black as she disappeared. She woke again in the middle of Space as an old ship came to her view. Bow jumped out of it to grab her, and at that point, it was impossible to hold back tears. She cried hard into his arms as Adora pulled them back by Bow's rope. They all crashed into each other as the doors of the ship closed. Glimmer looked around in bewilderment as Bow and Adora hugged her fiercely. It took her a few moments to notice Catra looking at them mournfully.

"Catra," Adora asked as she rose to her, "What's wrong?"

"I failed Entrapta," Catra answered while hugging herself. "I came to this mission to save her, and I failed. Maybe I really exist just to hurt people."

"No," Bow said boldly, "We haven't failed her yet. We still have the coordinates of Prime's ship, we still have Darla, and we still have each other. And as long as we have all of these things together, we will always have hope."


	8. Old Memories, New Strenghs Part.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is another bonus chapter! I wanted to add it to the previous chapter, but it felt like too much so I wrote it like this instead. I am now going to stare blankly at the wall because I had to rewatch this episode three times and my soul is empty. Hordak's scream is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.

  
Entrapta limped on her left foot as she was dragged to Prime's throne room. She had to admit, the fact that over a dozen clones had fought her and they only succeeded in giving her a twisted ankle and a few cuts pleased her immensely. The number of guards surrounding her didn't hurt her pride, either. They forced her to kneel in front of Prime once she got to the feet of his throne.

Prime lifted Entrapta's head with the tip of his shoe. "You must think that your treachery will save them, and I am here to tell you how mistaken you are. Thanks to your transmission, we can now locate the Etherian ship and see its every move. You have failed."

Entrapta kept her head up high. "If you really think that my friends won't be able to use this against you, then you're the mistaken one here. Bow is the most brilliant friend I know, and he will find a way to ruin you."

Prime's eyes widen. "You knew they would come back for you. So why? Why did you repay me in such a way after I put you in my beloved sight? And in such a reckless manner?"

Entrapta couldn't stop the bubbling laughter in her chest. "You said so yourself. Us Etherians are very so emotional." She sobered before continuing. "I let Glimmer go because I knew it would hurt you more. You were so delusional by your glory that you didn't notice me hacking into your computers and sending enormous information to Etheria, which is with my friends right now. By sending Glimmer away with the data I gathered, I not only build the perfect rescue team, but I also insulted you to your very core. So it doesn't matter what you do to me, you have already lost."

Entrapta expected Prime to hit her or scratch her cheek with his metal fingers as he loomed over her. Instead, he did something much worse. He smiled. "Oh, my child, you're wrong."

Prime stood up to face the clones around them. Entrapta only now noticed how their eyes glowed in the dark. "There is no darkness that my light cannot pierce. No distance that my hand cannot reach. We will find this great She-Ra, and our merciful light shall reach her as well."

Entrapta turned her head to clones as they chanted, their voices echoing in the room. They sang of how Prime casts out all shadows over and over again, and Entrapta's head started to hurt. Prime summoned four clones to come forward.

"Everyone, no matter how big or small, has a place in my empire." Prime walked over to Entrapta as she was forced onto her feet and cupped her chin, making sure she will look him in the eye. "And you will be of use to me yet."


	9. Onward and Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I'm so happy I got this chapter out of my system. Now I can move on to the angst fest that is Save the Cat
> 
> Also, special thanks to Horace-Tabor on Tumblr. You helped me out and I will forever be grateful.

Glimmer sighed softly into Bow's arms and closed her eyes, feeling that something is right with this world as he hugged her. The moment ended when he removed her away from him and pulled out his datapad as he sat down on a box next to him, frowning while refusing to look at her. Glimmer looked at the floor in dejection, her arms shaking thanks to everything that happened in the last hour. 

Adora stood over her as she took everything in. "I can't believe Entrapta would do something this reckless. I mean, I knew she was a bit wild, but this is next level."

Catra glared at Adora. "Entrapta doesn't do 'reckless.' I'm reckless, you're beyond reckless, but Entrapta isn't reckless. Entrapta can be rash, but she always thinks things through. She probably calculated everything, and this is the best option she could think of." Catra turned to the exit. "I'm going to get Darla off of autopilot. The last thing we need is to waste too much power."

There was an awkward silence after Catra left the room. Glimmer looked from Adora to Bow, making sure they were both listening. Adora fell to the floor beside her while Bow faked interest in something on his datapad. 

"There is so much I wanted to say to the both of you," Glimmer started, "about what happened on Etheria. About what I said. What I did." She glanced at Bow as she said that. Bow looked stubbornly away, but Glimmer held her gaze as she reached for his hand. "What I mean is I'm really, really..."

The group screamed as the spaceship started to swing randomly in space. It took a few seconds for it to become stable again.

"What was that?" Adora asked while holding on a cargo box for dear life.

"I'll check with Catra and see the damage," Bow said before leaving the room. His coldness was the final push for Glimmer's tears to escape her eyes. She hugged herself as she approached Adora.

"Adora, I'm so sorry for everything I said," she said while crying, "You were right about everything. I should have listened to you. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, and now I-."

Adora went to Glimmer and hugged her. "Hey, hey, it's okay. We're here now. And nothing is going to pull us apart again. I really missed you too."

A loud crash forced Glimmer and Adora apart as they both fell to the ground. A screen appeared in front of the room with Catra and Bow in the main room. Catra looked apologetic while Bow just looked annoyed.

"Okay, so there is a small, big problem," Catra said.

"What's going on?" Adora asked. "Is it Horde Prime?"

"No!" Catra shouted. "We managed to avoid his ships thanks to Entrapta's help. The problem is our fuel crystals. I used too much of it while I put Darla on autopilot, so this is kind of my fault."

"Great," Glimmer mumbled bitterly, "Another thing you ruined. At least some things never change." Catra's ears fell in hurt.

Bow glared at her. "The crystals are ancient, and we would have run out eventually. Don't blame Catra for something that is out of her control like you do with everything else." Glimmer's eyed widen in hurt.

"But don't worry," Catra chimed in, "Darla's sensors have picked up a nearby planet that has a natural supply of the fuel crystals we need, and we've set a course."

"Yeah," Bow added excitedly, "All we have to do is gently glide through a rocky debris field, the planet's incredibly dense atmosphere, and generally land on a solid crystal surface." Glimmer and Adora shared a glance in panic.

Catra looked just as distressed as Glimmer. "Wait, what-"

"ONWARD, DARLA." The ship flew at Bow's ecstatic command. Adora and Glimmer held onto each other for dear life as they speeded into space without any seatbelts. 

They all screamed as they reached the planet's orbit and only stopped once the ship landed on sweet, sold ground. Glimmer tried not to run to the hatch door when Bow entered the room with Catra and gave her a datapad with a smile. Glimmer felt her anger burning in her chest. _He barely said hello to his best friend bus is friendly to horde scum? It doesn't make any sense!_

"Darla, open the hatch door," Adora commanded. The door opened, and Glimmer looked at the scenery in confusion. There was nothing out there. The place looks like a barren wasteland, with dusty grey terrain and chilling winds.

"This is the crystal planet?" Adora asked. "With all the crystals?"

"Well, it should be," Catra said, "My datapad is definitely picking something up. The crystals should be here somewhere."

"My datapad is picking something up too," Bow said, "So we are where we meant to be. But where are all the crystals?"

Glimmer looked ahead of her and stopped Bow in his tracks. "Wait. I see something there. It looks like a..." Glimmer wasn't sure.

Bow walked to Glimmer and stood next to her. "It's a spire. They're the first wave of Prime's invasion. It's what he's doing to Etheria right now."

"This planet, he destroyed it." Glimmer looked at the dust under her feet and felt like throwing up. " That's what he's doing to Etheria? This is all my fault. Horde Prime only found us because-"

"Because you activated the Heart of Etheria." Bow's words unintentionally awoke something terrible in Glimmer. She tried to calm herself down, But Prime's words echoed in her head. _His suffering is thanks to you. It's all your fault. All your doing-_

"My tracker pad is picking up an energy signal," Bow's voice snapped Glimmer back to reality. "Those crystals have to be here somewhere. We'll have to find them on foot. Maybe Catra and I can split into one group and-"

Catra cut Bow off. "Sorry, Bow, but one of us needs to stay behind for a few good minutes. Darla needs some prepping for the new crystals, removing the old ones. They're ancient. Come to think of it; it's a good thing Darla ran out of energy now when there was a planet with the crystals we need. Though it will be a miracle if the old crystals didn't fuse with her engines by now." Catra started to mumble to herself as she re-entered the ship anxiously. 

"Join us when you can!" Bow shouted to Catra before going back to his pad. Adora and Glimmer went so his side as he should them his tracker pad. "We're looking for these pink crystals. Thulite."

"Not a lot of pink here," Adora mumbled while kicking a nearby tone, "Or any color."

"That's okay. We'll find them," Glimmer said optimistically, "We're the Best Friend Squad, and we're great at quests. Right, Bow?"

"Yeah. Sure," Bow replied indifferently as he walked away from them. "Come on." 

Bow's cold response made Glimmer hug herself. She let out a sigh before walking to Adora. "He is forever going to be mad at me, isn't he?"

"Well, Bow missed you so much," Adora explained, "But he was really hurt by everything you ... By everything that happened. I think he was so focused on finding you, he never actually worked through his stuff."

Glimmer was silent for a few seconds before looking straight at Adora. "Do you think he replaced me with Catra?"

Adora looked at Glimmer in shock. "What? No! Why would you even think that?"

"Because he's all friendly with her about tech and stuff. Am I not good enough for friendship now?" Glimmer hated how her voice screeched near the end.

Adora opened her mouth to respond, but an earthquake cut her off. The squad screamed as the ground cracked under their feet. Glimmer was able to push Bow out of the way, but Adora wasn't so lucky. The earth opened under her, and she fell inside the giant crack. Bow and Glimmer yelled out her name in panic.

"Are you okay?" Glimmer shouted.

"I'm okay," Adora replied, "And I found the crystals. Not the pick ones, though."

"Just stay put, we're coming." Glimmer turned her head to Bow. "We'll have to find another way down."

"Can't you teleport us down there?" Bow asked. Glimmer mournfully shook her head.

"I haven't able to teleport since Prime took me." Except for that one time on Prime's ship, but Glimmer was going to keep that to herself until she could figure out what was wrong with her powers.

"I think I see a light," Adora yelled out, "I'm gonna go towards it."

"Don't go towards the light!" Bow shouted in panic. Glimmer tried not to laugh at his voice cracking.

"...It's not that kind of light," Adora said in annoyance. Glimmer could see Adora's deadpan expression from where she was sitting.

She and Bow remained still for any reply from Adora, but the longer they waited, the more uneasy they felt. Bow sighed before standing up straight.

"It's been too long," he said, "We have to go down there to make sure Adora isn't hurt." Glimmer nodded her head in agreement.

They slowly started to slide down through the earth's cracks, using the crystals around them as support. Bow was going gracefully, but Glimmer had more trouble, resulting in her slipping on the earth's smooth part. She was just about to fall when Bow grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. Glimmer apologized, but Bow just glared at her.

"You should be more careful now that you can't teleport," Bow scolded as he walked towards the signal on his pad.

"I really miss teleporting," Glimmer said to herself. She ran to Bow's side, thinking that maybe sharing childhood memories will cheer them up. "Remember, when I finally learned how to use my powers? We teleported everywhere. Brightmoon, Mystacor..."

"Castaspella hated it," Bow said while smiling. Glimmer felt hopeful again.

"But we'd always teleport away just when she was about to catch us." Glimmer stepped forward dramatically, swinging her arms while telling the story. She laughed at those memories, feeling something in her awakening, almost like an inner glow. She sighed at its warmth.

"That was forever ago," Bow said as he moved ahead of Glimmer, "A lot's changed since then."

Glimmer tried to reach out to Bow but held herself back and looked away from his back as it furthered away from her. "Yeah. I guess it has." It took her a few moments to notice how much he has moved on. Glimmer had to run to catch up with him. "Bow, wait up!"

He didn't wait up. "Bow! Would you please slow down?"

"I just wanna get back to the ship," Bow said as they both entered a cave. Several weapons were pointed to their faces. Three people with the same dark skin and frown all looked like they were ready to kill them. Glimmer wouldn't be surprised if they were siblings.

"It's all right," Adora said while standing between them and the weapons, "They're my friends."

"They don't look like friends," the one with the metallic limbs said. Glimmer looked down in hurt.

"Are you guys-?" Adora began to ask.

"We're fine," Bow said aggressively. He glanced at the strangers. "Who are the space pirates?"

"These are the Star Siblings," Adora answered, "They're after the same thing we are, and we should all be working together." She turned to the Star Siblings. "You know where the fuel crystals are, and we can help. What do you say?"

The Star Siblings looked at each in consideration when another voice was heard through the halls. Catra showed up with her own datapad and an embarrassed expression. Glimmer tried not to let her annoyance show.

"Okay. How many of you are there?" The middle star sibling asked in exasperation.

"One too many," Glimmer mumbled to herself. Catra's ears fell to her head, and Bow glared at her. Glimmer stared at the nearest crystal so that Catra won't see her hurt. She refused to let her win.

"So, Catra," Adora started, "Any reason you decided to join us now? I thought it would take you longer with Darla."

Catra's ears perked up. "I came to warn you guys. First of all, Darla is in bad shape, and I will need an extra pair of hands to fix her up. Secondly, we need to get off this planet as fast as possible. My sensors show that this planet is a hotbed of seismic activity. In other words, it's dying."

Adora rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, we kind of learned that the hard way."

Catra showed Adora her pad. "I was able to figure out the earthquakes' timing, but I'm still in training, so the chances are that I'm probably wrong. I'm not even sure when the big ones are going to hit."

"Let me see that?" Bow asked as he reached out his hand. He held his chin while reading the data. "You're mostly right, but you forgot to add more outside factors to the calculation." He tapped on a few keys and returned the datapad to Catra with a smile. "Here, that should do it."

"Thanks, Bow," Catra said while smiling back. Glimmer could feel the jealousy burning her chest. "So, are we getting the Thulite now or..."

"Fine," the male Star Sibling said, "We need to hurry. Let's go."

The group walked down the crystal halls with the star siblings in the front and The Best Friend Squad and Catra in the back. The star siblings started to share stories (resulting in Glimmer finally learning their names), laughing, and running among them. Jewelstar and Starla forward while play fighting, and Glimmer took that chance to talk to Tallstar. "You guys are pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah. Growing up under the threat of Horde Prime does that to you," Tallstar sounded both somber and content at the same time. "We've lost a lot, but we still have each other." Glimmer looked at Bow and immediately understood what Tallstar meant. She tried to reach out to him again, but he ignored her and continued forward. Glimmer signed to herself before reaching the end of the hall with the others. 

The Thulite was in a cave right in front of them. Massive blue crystals were surrounding them, and they all reflected the glow of the pink Thulite, making the cave look purple. Glimmer would have found this place beautiful if it didn't try to kill them.

"I'm surprised you didn't find this sooner," Bow said.

"There wasn't an opening here last time we checked," Starla explained, "I think the last quake caused a big enough dent for us to go through."

"At least these quakes were good for something," Catra said bitterly, "And speaking of quakes, the next one is going to be easy. But we should still be alert by the crystals on the ceiling."

"Noted," Adora said. They all walked towards the Thurile cave when another quake hit. Just as Catra predicted, this one was easier than the last. A few crystals fell on them, but the Star Sibling took them all within seconds. Starla specifically took out the most with her boomerang knives, and Glimmer could tell by other siblings' sour faces that they had a competition going on. Glimmer and Bow had just reached the Thulite cave when another quake hit. This one much bigger. Bow gaped at Catra.

"What's going on?" He asked her in panic.

"I screwed up," Catra answered, " My pad predicted another quake, a very big, but there should have been at least ten more minutes before it hit us, so I didn't see the point in telling!"

"Catra messed up again?" Glimmer asked sarcastically. "Shocker!"

"Glimmer, that is enough!" Bow shouted at her as the cave started to fall apart. The small chasm that they used as an entrance to the Thulite cave was collapsing. Bow pushed Glimmer away as massive crystals trapped them inside.

"No!" Glimmer shouted in retaliation. She banged hard on the crystal, trying to put the smallest dent in them. She fell to the ground as she started to hyperventilate. The area felt too small to breathe in, and Glimmer could feel the panic she felt on Prime's ship. The world grew darker and darker as she started to cry.

"Glimmer!" Bow shouted as he knelt next to her. "It's okay. Just breath, all right? We're going to get out of here soon."

Glimmer shook her head as she laid it on her legs. "It doesn't matter anymore. I should have known this wasn't going to work. Prime was right after all and-"

"Wow, there. Hold up," Bow said while waving his hands in the air, "What do you mean 'Prime was right' ?"

Glimmer sobbed into her knees. "He said that everything is my fault. That Etheria will fall all because of me. I tried to listen to Entrapta's advice and deny it, but it's not working."

Bow was listening quietly. "And me giving you the silent treatment didn't help, did it?" Glimmer's silence was the only answer he got. He let out a small sigh and sat down next to her.

"Glimmer, do you know what really hurt me about your betrayal?" She shook her head. "Well, then I'll ask another question: when you gave up Brightmoon, what do you think the Horde attacked first?"

Glimmer thought deeply about Bow's question, and the realization hit her like a brick wall. The villages, the citizens, and - "You're dads. Oh, Bow, the Horde could have hurt your dads."

"It wasn't just that," Bow said, "It was the fact that you let a lot of innocent lives get hurt for your selfish benefit. We fought the Horde to stop them, not to act like them. I felt like I lost my best friend."

Glimmer started to sob again. "I get that I hurt you, but why did you have to replace me with Catra? I can understand Perfuma, but Catra? She took my mom from me. I thought you would care about that."

Bow smiled. "If it makes you feel better, I did hate Catra when she first joined the rebellion."

Glimmer glanced at Bow. "You did?"

"Everyone did. Well, everyone but Adora," Bow chuckled at the recollections, "She was snarky and a nightmare to work with. She refused to eat with us, wasted a lot of our candles, and didn't speak to anyone besides Adora and king Micah."

"Why did she agree to speak to my dad?"

"Because he just has that effect on people." Glimmer smiled at that. Hearing Bow talk about her dad made her feel happy. Bow continued. "It took me a while to understand why Catra acted the way she did. But when I found why, it was hard to hate her. She ate with herself because she thought that someone might poison her food and only talked with Micah and Adora since she was scared of everyone else. I only found out recently why she needed so many candles, but I can't tell you without fearing for my life. When I tried to open her up by offering tech lessons to help me with Darla, she looked so shocked that I thought she was having a stroke."

"Why are you telling me this?" Glimmer asked while fidgeting with her cape.

"Because I want you t know two things. One, I will never replace you, not even when you hurt me the most. Befriending Catra was for both of our sake since she needed a friend just as much as I did. And two, forgiveness is earned. It will probably take me some time to fully forgive you, but it will happen one day. Besides, if a person like Catra can be forgiven, then it will be a piece of cake for you."

Glimmer laughed, truly laughed out loud, for the first time in forever. She felt something familiar flush in her chest, and judging my Bow's shocked expression, her body was glowing with the feeling. Glimmer gasped as she felt her power come back again and stood up abruptly.

"Glimmer?" Bow asked in bewilderment.

"Bow, I need you to stand back." Bow did as he was told, and Glimmer drew a spell circle in midair. Channeling all the strength she has, Glimmer wrote a destruction spell and blew up an entrance. They exited just in time to see Adora become She-Ra again, if only for a split second, as she used her powers to make them a way of the crystal cavern.

"Was that magic?" Tallstar asked.

"No," Catra said, "It was She-Ra."

The amazement from She-Ra disappeared as another quake hit them, this time causing the earth to shatter. Adora, Catra, and the Star Siblings were able to get to the side with the exit in time, but Bow and Glimmer weren't so lucky. The ground split into two, with Glimmer being taken higher as her part turned into a small hill. The hill became thinner the higher it got, and Glimmer would have pummeled onto the floor if Bow hadn't caught her princess carry style. They looked over at where their friends were as the massive chasm separated them, and Glimmer recognized Bow's 'I have a reckless idea' face in a second.

"Ready to do something that probably won't work?" Bow asked.

"Always," Glimmer answered. Bow took out his a rope arrow and flew it to a crystal on the ceiling. The rope wrapped around the crystal, and Bow took Glimmer's waist as they flew in the air. They had almost got to the group when the crystal they depended on dropped. They both screamed as they fell, and Glimmer used the last bit of energy she had to teleport them to safety. 

"Okay, now _that_ had to be magic," Tallstar said.

"While I have a ton of questions about Glimmer's sudden power boost, did you guys at least remembered to grab one of the Thulite crystals?" Catra asked.

"We didn't just get one," Glimmer said while showing what's in her cape. "We got six."

Catra sighed in relief before she gasped as another quake hit. Adora yelled at them to start running as Bow took Glimmer's hand to help her up with a smile. _It's weird how one smile from Bow makes you forget how close you are to dying._

The group ran out just as the entrance to the crystal cavern collapsed. They all stood still and breathed heavily as the dust settled in. The first sound they heard after awhile was Starla screaming in victory.

"We did it!" She screamed joyfully as she shook her dumbfounded brother. She let out a soft "We actually did it" while hugging him. Jewelstar smiled weakly in return.

Adora let out a breath of relief before being taken to the side by Catra. Tallstar did the same with her siblings, and both groups started to discuss something together. Adora and Tallstar talked with the other after they were done with their companions and turned to Bow and Glimmer with bright faces once they were done.

"Since their food is lost in the caves, the Star Siblings have agreed to help us with Darla in exchange for supply," Adora explained, "They will ride with us to their next location, and we will part from there. Sounds good?"

"Sounds perfect," Bow said to the Star Siblings, "Come on, I'll take you to the engine room." They followed Bow inside the ship with Catra and Adora close behind. Starla walked over to Glimmer before getting on Darla.

"My older siblings are too prideful to admit it, but we were wrong before," She said with a bright smile. It was easy to understand why she was named after a star now, "Your magic is proof that there is still a way to defeat Prime, and we'll make sure the whole universe knows of the five reckless, stubborn, and brave Etherians you stole from Prime right under his nose." Glimmer giggled with Starla at her joke as they entered the spaceship. 

She found Catra with Adora and Bow as they turned the ship's computers back on. Glimmer took a deep breath before walking towards Catra. Catra wanted to say something, but Glimmer stopped her before she could.

"If you are going to apologize, then don't," Catra was trying to speak up, but Glimmer stopped her again, "I can't forgive you right now. I only know you as the Horde scum that took my mother away from me so your 'sorries 'won't work." Glimmer could feel Bow and Adora stare at her, but she ignored them. She took a breath before continuing. "But that doesn't mean I won't be able to forgive you one day. There is still plenty of you to get to know, and I'm willing to give those parts of you a chance. So, ready to be friends with me?" Glimmer asked as she reached out a hand. Catra looked at her hand before taking and letting out a yelp when Glimmer caught her in a hug. Catra pushed her away with a glare and a hiss, which quickly changed to a downwards glance.

"Sorry," she said, "I'm just not ready for group hugs yet."

Glimmer looked at Catra and smiled at her as she reached out to hold her hand. "It's okay. Some things are worth waiting for."

Catra smiled right back at her, and Glimmer could have sworn she saw Adora's chest glow in warmth for a second, but maybe it was a trick of the eye.

* * *

On a different planet, a pegasus felt something familiar for the first time in months as his horn gleamed. _She-Ra_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some of you won't like that I removed some of the action, but I had to. I can't believe the show wasted four minutes of screentime for action filler. The stakes were already high, we didn't our heroes to be in constant danger to understand that.
> 
> (BTW: Did anyone notice that I gave Glimmer bisexual colors through the crystals? Because that was 100% intentional)


	10. Returning Light Part.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a great day for Glimbow fans because this chapter is full of their fluff. Everyone else will hate me for this.

Darla landed smoothly in the Velvet Glove after being pulled by an outside source. Adora alone got out of the ship with her hands in the air, walking towards the five clones send to bring her to Prime. Two grabbed her arms and forced them to her back while another two entered Darla. The last clone stood in front of her in silence.

"You won't find anything. I came here alone," Adora said to the clones ordered to search the ship. She turned to the last clone with a smirk. "I hear Horde Prime's been looking for me. Figured it was time we met."

The last clone looked over to the pair inside the ship and turned to Adora, smiling as they returned empty-handed. "Yes, you will be brought to Prime. And there you will receive your judgment."

Adora was forcefully pulled to her feet as the clones took her to Prime. The Best Friend Squad waited until they exited the room when they fell from the ship's bottom emergency pod. Bow got up enthusiastically and took out his datapad.

"Spacesuit testing an official success," he said with his voice cracking, "All suits stood up to ship's velocity with zero loss of life."

"Wait. What?" Glimmer asked as she stood up on her feet. "You never told me that was a possibility!"

Catra ignored them both and turned on her earpiece. "We're in. They didn't find us."

"Good," Adora said, "Be quick and don't get caught."

"Anything else you want to tell us, captain obvious?" Adora huffed, and Catra snickered. Glimmer rolled her eyes before running out of the dock with Bow into the Velvet Glove. Catra went out a second later in the opposite direction. Both teams ran to their destined locations until they stopped fifteen minutes for the timed protocol. Catra spoke up first.

"Okay, sound off," she said, "I'm searching for Hordak by locating his scent to getting him out of here-"

"And Glimmer and I are gonna hack to the ship's server and download any intel about Prime's weak points and any other thing Entrapta didn't have time to warn us about." Glimmer nodded along to Bow's words before remembering her advice.

"Catra, Entrapta told me Prime made sure to keep her and Hordak apart. If Entrapta's scent is getting weaker while Hordak's is getting stronger, it means you're on the right track."

"Noted." 

"Everyone," Adora said, "just please be careful."

"Oh, you know me, Adora," Catra snarked, "I'm always careful." Glimmer can hear Adora struggling not to laugh as she and Bow snickered themselves.

The two teams continued onward when Glimmer started to have trouble breathing. Her fingers began to twitch, and her head was beginning to hurt. Were the halls growing longer, or was she feeling that small? 

Bow grabbed her hand when he noticed her breathing change and gave it a gentle squeeze with a soft smile. Glimmer smiled uneasily back when Catra started to breathe heavily too.

"Catra, are you okay?" Catra gasped at Glimmer's voice. Glimmer could tell by her own experience she just got back to reality.

"What, you guys are worried about me?" Glimmer smiled at her snark.

"Maybe. Just try to stay calm. I know what these corridors can do to a person."

"I'm trying. They're just so similar to the ones in the Fright Zone. I keep expecting someone to jump on me," Catra sighed softly before continuing, "How can anyone live here without going crazy?"

Glimmer was going to reply until she saw two clones coming her way. "Sorry, Catra. Gotta go." She and Bow ran away from them until Bow pulled her into another crosspoint. They hid behind a wall while Bow looked out to ensure the clones didn't find them. 

He turned his head to Glimmer. "Any chance you can teleport us out of here?"

Glimmer tried to sparkle her fits, but nothing came out. She gave a tired huff. "I can't. This ship is driving my power crazy."

Bow looked around, trying to find a place to hide in, and his eyes landed on a brightly lit room. "Let's go there. With all the glowing tech, it has to be the server room."

Glimmer nodded her head in agreement before running to the room as fast as they could without making a sound. And yet, instead of a server room, they found some sort of clone birthing room with various pods of newly created clones. Glimmer gulped when she saw the two awake clones examining the mechanisms.

"Uh...Hello," Bow said awkwardly, "Would you believe that we're the inspectors?" Glimmer slapped her forehead.

One of the clones pressed a button to close the door from behind them before both the clones charged at them with snarls. Glimmer and Bow screamed as Bow pulled out his arrows, and Glimmer pulled out her staff. They fought them off well, but as Glimmer pushed one of the clones into the green pool, she became aware of where she was. Suddenly the memories of that day came back to her mind, taking control of her movements and forcing her to walk backward. Glimmer pumped into a clone in an open pod and screamed when he grabbed her shoulder.

"You are trespassing. Prime shall hear of this, and his punishment shall be merciless, for Prime sees ALL..." The clone yelled out in pain when Bow shot an electric arrow to his chest. Glimmer moved away from him and fell to the ground as her legs shook. The clone ended up falling form his pad, and Bow ran to him in panic.

"No, no," Bow said as he tried to shove the clone back, "Stay in there!"

The clone did not stay in there. In fact, he ended up falling on Bow as he whimpered. Glimmer couldn't stop herself. She started laughing like crazy.

"Why are you laughing?" Bow screeched at her.

"Because I was afraid of these clones to death, and now one of them sounds like a wounded puppy!" Glimmer as she wiped her mirth away before calming down. "It just feels so weirdly relieving. Like finding out that monster in your closet was just a coat on a chair."

The clone woke up with a gasp, and Glimmer's laughter ended abruptly. "Where am I?" He looked down at Bow with distress and continued when he didn't get an answer. "I cannot connect to the Hivemind. I am alone?" The clone started to weep, and Glimmer had trouble keeping her face straight. "I am _alone_." 

The last word came out as a wail, and Glimmer couldn't find this funny anymore. "We broke him, didn't we?"

Bow tried to return the clone to his pod as the clone proceeded to weep. "Horde Prime. How will I see my brother? How will he see my thoughts? How will he know that I am faithful?" The clone subbed into Bow's hands _again_. _Oh, this is starting to get sad._

"It's all right," Bow said in an attempt to comfort the clone. "We'll, uh... We'll tell him. Okay, buddy?"

The clone lifted his head to meet Bow's eyes and sniffed his nose. "You will tell him?"

Glimmer shook her head no ferociously. Bow ignored her. "Uh...Sure."

"You know Horde Prime?" The clone's eyes widen as he started to beg. "Please, let me accompany you and prove myself worthy to Horde Prime."

Glimmer sighed as she got off the floor and went towards Bow. _Great, we just adopted a new clone._

"No, that's... That's really okay-" Bow tried to say, but Glimmer put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Can you open this door for us?" The door opened under the clone's command, and Glimmer turned her face to Bow's. "When a clone disconnects from the Hivemind, they become incredibly vulnerable, which means this clone is terrified out of his mind. He needs to attach himself to anything emotionally, or he'll feel like he'll lose his sense of purpose. Besides, 'how will he see my thoughts'? These clones get their privacy invaded every day. This is his only chance at freedom. And he can open doors, which is good for us."

Bow 'glared' at Glimmer until he let out a sign of defeat. "I can't leave him without acting like a monster, is what you're saying?" He let out another sign before when Glimmer nodded her head and faced the clone. "Can you take us to the server room?"

The clone excitedly leaned on their faces. "I would be honored to serve one who is beloved by Prime."

"All right, then," Glimmer said, "Lead the way, Wrong Hordak." The clone collapsed on Bow as he pointed north. "Or point, and we'll drag you along. That's fine too."

" 'Wrong Hordak'?" Bow asked while grunting.

"It's what Entrapta called the nameless clones," Glimmer explained, "We'll come up with something more original later."

Bow shrugged as he dragged Wrong Hordak towards the next hall. They walked for a while, with Glimmer holding the datapad for Bow as he carried Wrong Hordak along when they all realized how lost they are. If it weren't for the energy signal on Bow's tracker pad, they would have been doomed.

"Come one, Wrong Hordak," Bow said impatiently, "Any clue to where the server room is yet?"

Wrong Hordak squinted his eyes. He looked as lost as they felt. "Forgive me, brother. The ship is designed so that it may only be navigated by one who has access to the Hivemind. And _I've been cut off_." Wrong Hordak started to wail dramatically as he leaned heavily on Bow. Glimmer planned on being annoyed until she felt a weird vibrate from her hand.

"Um, Bow?" Glimmer said, "Your tracker pad is acting weird."

Bow ran to Glimmer's side while lightly pushing Wrong Hordak away. "There's something in the next room. Something big. This has to be it." Bow ran back to Wrong Hordak and lifted him closer to the entry. 

Glimmer took Wrong Hordak's hand and opened the door, and Bow let out a gasp as he went deeper inside. The room itself was massive, with a high ceiling, dark blue, and purple walls, and a gigantic white antenna at the end of the room. Bow's eyes sparkled in wonder.

Glimmer chuckled before turning on her earpiece. Bow was in too much shock to talk anyway. "Adora, we've found it." Glimmer only heard static, and her anxiety rose. _Something is wrong._ "Adora?"

"Glimmer, Is something wrong?" Before Glimmer could answer, a high pitched hum went through their earpieces as they fell to the ground in pain, and the door behind them opened with an army of clones waiting for them. Bow, Glimmer, and a dragged Wrong Hordak all ran to the control panel before Bow connected his tracker pad to the computer while Glimmer grabbed Bow's arrows. She shot down the clones while Bow hacked into the central server.

"I guess those archery lessons I gave you have finally paid off?" Bow asked as another clone went down.

"Less talking, more typing!" Glimmer screamed. "Why is it taking so long, anyway?"

"Because I don't have the time anymore!" Bow screamed back at her. " I was planning on downloading Entrapta's bugs into Horde Prime's server, but those take ten minutes! And his network is the most complicated thing I have ever seen."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning we have to get out of here!" More clones came to them as they overwhelmed Glimmer and Bow quickly. Wrong Hordak was able to throw some of them away, but it wasn't enough. Glimmer felt her anger rise, her frustration strengthened, and she took out her staff as she recited a spell Shadow Weaver taught her. Glimmer formed the circle midair and blasted all the clones off with her pole and a wave of magic and smiled proudly after checking the damage she made. Bow looked at her with shock. "I can't believe your temper just saved our lives."

Glimmer was going to say something back before a clone next to them tried to grab her leg. He had a smile on his face. A very creepy and familiar smile that Glimmer _hated_. "Enemies of Horde Prime will know the terror of his-" His gleeful speech was cut by Glimmer slamming her staff on his head.

"YOU!" Glimmer shrieked as she took her staff and beat the clone halfway to death. " Thank - you - for - showing - up - you - gigantic- JERK!" 

"Glimmer!" Bow yelled out as he grabbed her shoulders to pull her away from the now most likely broken clone. "Mind taking this out on the server? Because while we might not be able to hack him-"

"We can still hurt him!" Glimmer shouted. "Bow, you evil genius!" She let out a war cry as she slammed her staff into the computer. Electricity started to crackles as the room began to smell of smoke.

"Let's go!" Bow shouted as he grabbed his longbow and arrows. He took out a rope arrow and aimed it at Wrong Hordak, using it to drag him out of the explosions. The gang ran back into those long halls, trying to avoid all the clones they can. An army of clones blocked them from both sides of the hallway. Glimmer thought it was the end until a flash of purple and white came their way and took out the soldiers. Glimmer and Bow shouted in shock at the same time.

"Entrapta?!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SO SO INCREDIBLY SORRY. I know some of you wanted to see chipped Entrapta, and I will get to that, but I needed to write this first. Please don't kill me


	11. Returning Light Part.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JESUS TAP DANCING FUCKING CHRIST, I DID IT. I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER AT TWO IN THE MORNING WHILE STARVING AND DEHYDRATED. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I AM GOING TO FUCKING DIE.

The unworthy brother dusted Lord Prime's awards in the trophy room as his big brother commanded him. Lord Prime has given only him the duty of a servant since his disgraceful return, and the unworthy brother understood why. No matter how hard he tried, that painful vision of purple refused to leave his mind, and the guilt he felt from those imperfections ate whatever was left of his soul. Perhaps another ritual is in order. His ears picked on footsteps coming his way before they folded backward on the intruder's aggressive knocking.

"Hordak! Open this door. I know you're in there!" A voice of a female shouted through the force field. The unloved brother let out a growl as he lowered the door. _Why does every trespasser keep calling me that name? Don't they know sinful it is to have a name under Lord Prime?_

The female lost her balance as the force field lowered, apparently making the mistake of leaning on it, and almost fell to the floor before catching her balance. "Thanks for the heads up," she mumbled bitterly as she dusted her clothes. The dishonored brother didn't know why, but he found her troubles mildly pleasing.

The young feline's eyes landed on his duster, and a smirk appeared on her lips. "The great Lord Hordak is on cleaning duty? Never thought I'd see this day coming." 

The dishonored brother let out a growl. _They keep saying that name._ "Trespassers on Prime's ship are to be thoroughly punished by Prime's merciful hand. State your purpose here and now before I call my fellow brothers to confine you."

The feline's complexion paled at the unloved brother's threat. "Hordak, listen to me. I know I have lied to you in the past, but I am a hundred percent honest this time—all cards on the table. I am a part of a rescue mission to save Entrapta-"

The disgraced brother snarled and advanced on this insulting feline, looming over her as she backed to the room's entrance. "Do not say that inflicting name to me! It is impure, imperfect, a disgrace to Lord Prime-" 

The feline pulled a purple First One's tech, and Hordak back away from it and her. A song-like name echoed with many memories that refused to leave emerged in his head. _His confession of his failures, the Fright Zone, his throne, and a beautiful face he could almost see._

Hordak fell to his knees with a painful take of breath. "No. No, take this away from me. Please, these memories are too painful, don't make them return to me, I beg of you."

Catra did not back away. In fact, she knelt down beside him, with the purple crystal still in her hand. Her face showed only pity. No, it didn't show pity. It showed _empathy._ "I know how painful these memories can be. I know how badly you want to erase them, how badly you want to pretend nothing ever happened, but life never works that way. And I know deep down you knew this too. These 'inflictions' you hate so much are a part of you. _Entrapta_ is a part of you. You need her, just like we all need someone in our life." Catra looked away with a shy blush before staring straight at him again. "And proving yourself; your worth to everyone by acting uncaring and heartless isn't an option anymore. It never was. Now stop like a robot and accept these memories already!"

Hordak let out a soft breath at the end of her speech and looked at the crystal she snaked into his palm. He closed his eyes in concentration as more memories flooded to him- _him, showing his vulnerability to this woman by accident, a strong power source, a sword, activating a portal, and the world's most powerful words ever spoken to him-_

**Imperfections are beautiful. At least, to me.**

Hordak stood up with a gasp and clenched his heart. These memories were far more potent than anything Prime had ever shown him. Catra stood up as well, standing in place as she waited for him to calm down. He leaned heavily on the wall, his heart still beating in his ears. "Is she... Is she truly alive?" He cursed himself for the weakness in his voice.

"Yes!" Catra almost yelled out. "And I know how to prove it to you. These screens at the end of the room show everything going on Prime's ship, right? Glimmer said so. Maybe you can search his ship for Entrapta."

Hordak looked at the screen with furrowed brows. An idea went to his head as he walked towards the keyboard. "Prime does not have any security cameras, seeing as he can see everything from his fellow brothers. But he does have patrol bots I can activate from here. They will scout the ship for us while we wait safely here."

"Genius move, Hordak," Catra commented, "Good thing to know they didn't fry your brain too badly here." Hordak's ears fell. _Could she possibly know about the purification ritual, or was this just a poorly timed joke?_

Hordak and Catra stood in silence as the bots scattered in the endless halls. Catra's eyes widen as she grabbed Hordak roughly by the arm and pointed at one of the screen shards. "Stop that bot at Prime's throne room. I feel like something bad is going to happen there." Hordak nodded his head and positioned one of the bots directly above the entrance to the room. He saw a young blonde girl (Adora- _She-Ra_ \- his memories whispered) standing in front of his big brother. His older brother sat on his chair with his tentacles attached to it, and his veins were filled with a green liquid. Hordak grimaced at his condition.

"What the heck is that?" Catra asked in terror.

"I think my brother is trying to frighten She-Ra by showing her his unseemly state," Hordak answered. They both quieted down when they heard Prime laugh. Catra made a small gagging noise when one of the attending clones removed a liquid-filled cord from his brother's chair. Hordak couldn't blame her.

"You are not going to use the weapon, or you would have already done so," Prime said, "You would never risk the safety of your precious friend."

"You don't know me," Adora angrily replied, "And you don't know what I'm capable of."

Horde Prime continued to smirk. "Oh, but I do." The two clones disabled the cords from his back, and Prime's hair disabled itself as he rose from his throne. Stim hissed as the two attendants helped him back together. "I am old, far older than you can imagine. My brothers lend me their life force, and when one vessel fails me, I simply elect another." Prime cupped one of the clones' cheek as both clones blushed. "Thus, Prime has reigned eternal throughout the centuries."

"Is this true?" Catra asked in horror when Prime paused.

"I believe so," Hordak replied. He felt numb from the emotions going through him. Was he like this too, once? 

"There is something so familiar about you, Adora," Prime continued as he walked towards the young girl before holding her chin, "A face I haven't seen in a thousand years." Adora forced her face away from his hand, and Catra gave a hum in support. "Not since I faced your ancestors and crushed their once-mighty empire beneath my heel. You call them the First Ones. And you are one of them, are you not, Adora?" Adora gasped in fright at the same time as Catra.

"Adora, don't panic. Just because he knows about the First Ones' thing doesn't mean he knows everything." Catra looked even more worried now as she pressed on her ear. "Adora? Bow? Sparkles?"

"What's wrong?" Hordak asked anxiously.

"Something is messing with our comms. Prime knows we're here." Hordak couldn't keep the fear from his features as his eyes went back to Prime in panic.

"I thought the First Ones were all gone, but clearly some faction remains," Prime circled Adora as he talked, "That race of tyrants abandoned you on a forgotten planet in a shadow dimension. They made you their weapon, their She-Ra."

"I don't fight for the First Ones," Adora said in a firm voice while Prime returned to his throne, "I fight for my home, for myself, and for my friends. Now, for the last time, where is Entrapta?"

"Adora?" Entrapta's voice rang in Hordak's ears. If it weren't for Catra's firm grip on his bicep, he would have surely collapsed. Adora turned around, probably in the hopes of finding the source.

"Entrapta? Where are you?" She called out to the voidness of the area. She turned back to Prime when she heard him laugh to himself.

"Of course," Prime said as he sat down, "Your little tech master. She hoped her friends would come for her, poor thing. So, all I had to do was wait." Hordak and Catra were supporting each other at this point. "As she would have said, 'these results are so very predictable.'" Prime waved his finger in a summoning motion. "Come here, child."

Footsteps echoed from the stairs leading to Prime. Two new clones arrived with a small, hooded figure. Masses of purple hair flooded from underneath the hood as the character revealed her face. This time to was Catra's turn to fall to her knees while Hordak gripped the crystal tightly. Entrapta was dressed in a simplified Horde uniform, with black gloves from her middle finger to her upper arms and short sleeves. Her hair had lost its bangs and was smoothed backward while her palms were uncovered. Hordak knew she would hate that, and his heart ached. But her eyes were the worse part. They glowed, blinding green as the purification pool as she smiled. "Hello, Adora."

Hordak's breathing harshen by her speech. He didn't remember much from his past before Prime, but he never forgot her voice. It was always so loud and energetic, only quieting down on Hordak's worse days or when the slightest of sounds drove her mad. But this voice... This voice was too calm, too slow, too _at peace_. He saw her walking to Prime, kneeling at his feet, and Hordak couldn't take it anymore. He picked up a nearby vase and threw it hard against the screen, letting its shards fall aimlessly to the floor. Silence rang in his ears as he tried to calm his breathing down while falling to the ground. Catra got to her feet with a determined look.

"We have to go save her," she said softly, "We have to. I can't be too late."

Hordak looked at the crystal and stood up straight, matching Catra's determined expression. He took a large club from the wall and walked towards the corridors. "Do you have a weapon with you?"

Catra took out her whip with a smirk. "Do I look like Kyle to you?"

Hordak didn't remember who this 'Kyle' was yet, so he only nodded his head and ran to the throne room with Catra right behind him. The halls never looked more as endless as they are now with Entrapta on Hordak's mind. After what felt like an eternity, they reached the stairs leading to their destination. Catra knocked the clones guarding the entrance with her whip without stopping for breath. They arrived in time to see Entrapta standing next to Prime with an eerie smile.

Adora turned to them in shock. "Catra?"

"Adora!" Catra shouted in panic when she saw how two clones detained her friend. She tried to run to her side when Prime summoned more clones to capture them all. Adora ended up standing on Hordak's right while Catra stood on his left. Hordak usually has the strength to fight them off, but the sight of Entrapta in the Galactic Horde uniform left him paralyzed.

"Entrapta, listen," Catra said desperately, "The clone next to me is Hordak. We all came here to rescue you, and we're not leaving without you."

"Hordak?" Entrapta asked in a weak voice. Her eyes almost turned back to their original color before they returned to that ghastly green. Yet Hordak still felt a small shard of hope. _She has never stopped fighting._

"Why don't you tell my brother what I have done for you, little sister?" Entrapta walked towards Hordak at Prime's command, her eerie smile never leaving her face. Adora and Catra were forced into the background by the clones, while Hordak remained in the center of the floor. The two clones left Hordak's side before Entrapta was face to face with him. Hordak fell to his knees in front of her. His hands shook, his entire body was frozen, and he found it a miracle he could move his mouth.

"Entrapta... I-" He said so softly, and one might think it's a whisper. Her touch silenced him as he gasped in the shock of it. This was the first time he saw her ungloved hands, watching as all the scars glimmered with the harsh lights. She took his numbed hand and forced him to cup her cheek in the same way Prime does to his clones. Her hair tied around his wrist and arm to keep him in place. 

Hordak wished he had the power needed to fight this. He never wanted this. No matter how badly much he craved for closeness, he never wanted for this to happen. He had dreams where they were both comfortable enough to share all their imperfections, where he no longer felt shame about his scars, and she would never feel shame about her failures again. This was the exact opposite of those dreams, and Hordak hated this with every fiber of his being. He felt tears start in his eyes as his hands shook.

"Prime has given something you never could," she said with that terrible calm voice, "He has given me peace. He fixed my heart that you broke when you abandoned me. Don't you see it? This is for the best. I have a place where I belong. We can be together again if you rejoin his light."

Hordak stared at her without blinking until his eyes burned. Prime came from behind Entrapta as he put a firm hand on her neck. She let out a breath in shock with a distressed expression. Hordak could feel his anger burn. Even when controlled, her hatred towards forced physical contact still exists. Hordak wished he could cut off Prime's hand.

"Let her go, brother! I will do as you wish; just release her!" He begged. As much as he hated Prime at the moment, he won't care throwing his pride a thousand times to ensure Entrapta's safety.

"Not before we make a deal," Prime said, his hand never leaving Entrapta, "I will give her to you if you want her. But first, Adora must do something for me." Hordak looked at Adora in distress as she focused on Prime. " You will give me She-Ra."

Adora looked at Hordak then, watching his reaction for an agreement. He shook his head no, almost feeling like he can read her mind. He won't give his brother anything in return. Not now or ever. Adora returned to Prime with an intense glare. "Never."

"Very well." With a snap of his fingers, a high pitched hum started to vibrate in Hordak's ears. He concluded it was from the earpieces when Both girls fell to the ground. He wanted to run to them, but the two clones from before came to keep him in place. An earpiece fell next to Prime's foot before being crushed by it.

"You miscalculated," Prime said with surprising anger, "I see all. I know all. You all thought yourselves worthy of challenging me, but you are nothing more than a false hero, the last of the First Ones to fall by my hand, an abandoned failure who only got by sheer luck, and my most unloved and unworthy of my brothers. You have led your friends and planet to destruction." He grabbed Entrapta roughly when he finished, and she gasped in pain as her eyes returned to their fuchsia color before going back to green. She continued to struggle as Prime petted her head like that of a pet.

"Go on," Prime called to Adora, "fulfill your purpose. Bring out She-Ra and strike me down." Hordak could see from the corner of his eye how Adora was starting to tear up. Catra tried to struggle against his brothers' grip to come closer to her. Or to punch Horde Prime, Hordak wasn't sure. He wished to do both as well.

Prime smirked as he viewed the scene before him. "But first, allow me to show what my light does to one who is graced by it." His hand finally left Entrapta's head as he walked away. She returned to her blissful smile. "I will leave it to you. Let me know when you have defeated them all."

" 'Them all'? What does he mean by that?" Catra asked before getting her answer the hard way. An army of clones emerged from the staircase and surrounded Hordak and Entrapta in a circle while blocking Adora and Catra from getting close to them. Entrapta struck first by using her hair to tie Hordak. Hordak grunted in pain before gripping her hair with his free palms and pushing her to him. Entrapta lost her footing and came crashing onto Hordak as he was freed from her hair. His left hand grabbed her by the left wrist as his right arm hooked around her shoulder. He forced her to bend down.

"Entrapta, I know you're fighting him as we speak," Hordak said urgently, "And I am not leaving you again. I'm going to make sure you'll be safe." Entrapta let out a weak laugh before she twisted her arm in a way that made her bones crack. Hordak stared at her in horror as she turned her head to smirk at him. Hordak groaned before screaming as her hair twisted his arm. She broke free and held Hordak from behind.

"But everything is already perfect as it is," she said in the voice he has come to hate, "We are with Prime now. There is no need for this fight to continue, Hordak. We already belong here in the light. Don't you want to stay with me?" 

Hordak yelled as he threw Entrapta away from over his shoulder and only did so since he knew that her hair would cushion her fall. Thankfully he was right as her hair stopped her mid-air by gripping the stairs to Prime's throne. She grunted by the force of the stop before laughing manically.

"Entrapta, no matter what he says, you can't stop fighting," Hordak practically begged, "I don't want to hurt you."

Entrapta's laughter came to a sudden stop. "But you have already hurt me. Prime has set me free of that pain and gave me a new home. The pain that you caused and my home that you took. He will show us all where we belong. A world of peace without end." 

Entrapta suddenly screamed and fell to the floor, her body spasming as she fought for control. "No...No, he's lying. Nothing belongs here. This place is too empty-" Her bones started to crack again before two white pupils arose in her eyes. Her maniacal laughter returned, only this time Hordak heard Prime's voice mixed with her's. 

"No!" Hordak screamed as he ran to her, grabbing her by the arms. "Brother, get out of her! She doesn't deserve this punishment-" A whimper own of pain cut off Hordak's words as Entrapta tied her hair around his stomach and arms. Hard. He could barely breathe as Entrapta - no, _Prime_ \- cupped his face.

"Oh, little brother. How long will you drag this out?" Hordak couldn't stop the tears from falling. His brother's cruelty couldn't be measured by anything in the universe. "Look at those Etherians fighting our fellow brothers. Look at their pathetic attempt at breaking free." Prime seized Hordak's face and bent it to look at the girls. He saw them fighting the clone army in a vain struggle to get closer to them. They were both calling out to him, but their yells couldn't be heard over the fighting. Prime forced his face back to Entrapta's. "This is what impurity looks like- fighting reckless battles while destroying those you love in the process. Do you know your lab partner went through a similar ordeal?"

"No," Hordak said in vain, "No, you're lying again."

"Oh, but it's true," they said with a chuckle, "She was afraid in the end. And she suffered. Maybe I should let her talk for herself." Entrapta's eyes were pure green again, and her blissful smile returned.

Hordak struggled against her. "Entrapta-"

"He forgot to mention one thing, you know. I wasn't only afraid in the end; I was also _alone_. You abandoned me, chose the words of a traitor over mine, and left me to fade alone on a forgotten island," Entrapta said, and Hordak brought his head down in shame, "I almost died thanks to you, did you know that? The mere mention of your name brought me to despair, and the tech of the island used that to hurt me. You couldn't protect the one thing you loved the most thanks to your defects. Prime was right; you really are a failure."

"Entrapta, I'm sorry-" Hordak lifted his head and saw Prime's eyes looking down on him. The rage he felt in his heart exploded as he forcefully freed himself from her and grabbed her by the shoulders, this time forcibly pushing her to the screen behind Prime's throne, away from prying eyes. This is too personal for Catra and Adora to see. The chip on her neck started to electrify, and Entrapta looked at him with clear eyes.

"Do it again." Hordak was shocked at Entrapta's request, but his shock turned into anger when her eyes returned to green.

"I refuse to give up on you, Entrapta," Hordak said with no hesitation.

"Then you're a fool," she said, "You cannot stop Horde Prime. He will reign triumphant all over the universe. It is destiny." The screen behind them started to heat up, and Entrapta screamed in pain because of it. Hordak quickly hugged her close as he ran away from the exploding screen. The glass shattered with the explosion, and Hordak rolled over Entrapta to protect her from the flying shards. He looked over the girls as they used the clones' distraction from the blast to defeat some more. He looked down on Entrapta as he heard her take a deep breath. She shakily opened her clear, beautiful fuchsia eyes.

"Hordak," she barely whispered, "Is it really you? Do you really remember me?"

"Entrapta. Of course, I remember you," Hordak said as he cupped her cheek gently, doing the exact opposite of how his brother does. He will give her the comfort he was denied. "You are the most magnanimous force of nature I have ever met. Not even Prime could take that away from you or me."

Entrapta laughed ( _her laugh_ ) as she cried and brought a hand to hold his own. The hand quickly went to his wrist as her eyes turned green again. She gasped and sat up before hitting Hordak in the face, the force of it causing him to move away from her. Entrapta walked over to the platform's edge, looking as if she was ready to jump when her chip started to malfunction again. She screamed as the chip burned her skin, and Hordak took her moment of clarity to his advantage.

"You have never let anything in your life stop you before," he said, " You survived the Fright Zone, Beast Island, and my brother all on your own. You are the strongest person I know, and if there is anyone who can defeat my brother with his own tech, it's you. So don't you stop battling fate now!"

Entrapta laughed sobbingly as she turned to him. "You really do remember me."

Hordak opened his palm to show the crystal, and Entrapta gasped. "All your life, you have given your strength to people who had none left. It is about time shall return the favor."

Entrapta looked at his hand in bewilderment and slowly walked to him as she fought Prime. She almost had her hand in his when Prime took control of her again. Hordak wanted to help her, But Entrapta put her hand up to stop him.

"I can... read his thoughts. He... wanted me... to throw the crystal ...away," Entrapta panted as she walked away to the room's center. Hordak made sure to stay close to her. Her voice grew stronger and louder with each step she took. "He wants to... kill me. But I won't let him. I am not his toy to be used, nor a pet to teach tricks to or a... science experiment to observe for afar. I am the tech master of Etheria, I can build robots from scraps of trash, I survived the worse on my own, and I'm the best friend anyone could ask for with great taste in small foods and fizzy drinks. I am princess Entrapta of Dryl, and I was never be used by anyone _ever again_!"

Entrapta screamed as a current of electricity went through her. She fell to the ground on her knees, but Hordak came last minute to catch her head before it fell to the floor. He held her close as she hugged him back. "Hordak, I have so much to tell you-"

"Entrapta, look out!" Catra yelled as she shielded Hordak and Entrapta from a cannon blast. She went flying backward as Adora screamed her name and ran to her. Adora stumbled towards her, tired from fighting all those clones, and cuddled her body close to her. A clone with his hood up and Prime's white pupils stood over them with a smirk and a smoking arm cannon.

"Disappointing," he said to Entrapta and Hordak. "Some creators are only meant for destruction. A true shame." The clone walked away from one battered couple to another. "I am sorry for the needless waste, Adora. I did not have to be like this. Are you ready to cooperate?"

Entrapta looked around her in fright. "There are too many of them. We can't fight them all." Hordak hugged Entrapta closer to him, feeling pathetic at admitting defeat. But Adora didn't waver. Hordak expected to see many things, but what happened next wasn't one of them. 

Her eyes started to glow a pure blue, and a humming started as pure energy began to flow around her. She stretched her arm to the sky, and a sword appeared in her hand.

"For the honor of Grayskull!" The sword's tip glowed in power as Adora was covered in what looked like the remnants of the universe. All the clones around them shielded their eyes away from the brightness- All except for his big brother. The galaxy blanket that covered Adora disappeared from her fee to her crown, and She-Ra stood in all her glory.

"Go get Bow and Glimmer," she said to Entrapta.

Entrapta nodded her head and grabbed Hordak's wrist. "Come on. Our friends need us!" She took him away from the throne room and into the halls without letting his arm go. Hordak looked at it in shock before a smile was put in replace as his ears went down. They hugged just a mere second ago, and yet this felt so much more intimate.

They found Entrapta's friends in seconds. All they had to do was follow where his fellow brothers were going, beat all said brothers before they could get to them, and try to make sense of the clone they dragged along with them.

"Entrapta!?" The two screeched in confusion.

"Hi..." She said back weakly with a wave. Hordak stared at the scene in front of him. He better not be put on babysitting duties for the lost clone.

"As much as I enjoy watching reunions, we're running out of time," Hordak said impatiently. He looked directly at the young man. "Where did you park your ship?"

"All the way back in the south docks. We won't make it there in time."

Entrapta's eyes shone as an idea popped into her head. "Bow, did you tinker with the ship in every possible, improbable, and impossible way as I instructed you to?"

"Yes."

"Every. Single. Detail?" Entrapta was vibrating at that point.

"Yes! Why?"

Entrapta let her crazy laugh she does whenever she gets too excited for her own good. Hordak's insides warmed at the sound. "Hordak, I'm gonna need you to whistle for me since my fingers are too numb thanks to all the electricity that went through me. Hey, Darla!"

Hordak whistled just as Entrapta asked of him, and a Frist Ones' ship came blasting through the wall, knocking out all the clones around them. Rocks and bits fell from the roof as the Velvet Glove shook with the forced entry. 

"Good girl," Entrapta said to Darla as Hordak carried her inside. He immediately put her down next to the ship's keyboard in the hopes of activating its engines. Queen Glimmer and Bow went inside a minute after them with a wounded Catra in the boy's arms as he laid her gently on the ground and put her head on his lap. The queen sat next to the boy to watch over Catra. Hordak wanted to bring Entrapta to them since her body was too tired to move on its own now, but the ship refused to listen to him. Thankfully, She-Ra had come just in time to activate the ship. She gently put her hand on his shoulder, and Hordak took as a sign to take a break and bring Entrapta to sit closer to her friends. She-Ra had put her hand on the keyboard, and the entire ship hummed with life.

"Administrator detected," the ship's computer said, "Hello, She-Ra."

"Hey, Darla, get us out of here."

"Affirmative."

"And, Darla," She-Ra added as she looked back, "Make it quick." The ship crashed any remains of that hall as it flew into outer space. Hordak wouldn't be surprised if she did it out of spite, nor could he blame her.

She-Ra went to her Catra and knelt down beside her, slowly taking her body and cuddling it close to her. "Come on, Catra. You're not done. Not yet." She brought their foreheads to each other as she cried. "We're going home."

She-Ra had suddenly gleamed brightly as she cried, letting some of her magic go to Catra. Hordak and Entrapta shared a glance at the same time Queen Glimmer and Bow did. Both She-Ra and Catra shone gold as She-Ra turned back to Adora. Tears fell from Adora's eyes when Catra didn't wake until she let out several coughs. Catra turned her head from Adora's lap after she finished coughing. "Hey, Adora." 

The tears didn't stop falling from Adora as she hugged Catra close to her. Catra took a deep breath before holding Adora close to her for dear life. Both girls looked as if one were to let the other go; the other wouldn't be able to recover. 

As Catra's soft purrs echoed throughout the ship, Hordak allowed himself to rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angst, angst baby.
> 
> Edit: after sleeping for two days I finally remembered to link the fanart for chipped Entrapta while also adding her description in the fic - https://one-groovy-rose.tumblr.com/post/619695108285153280/her-hair-is-still-long-for-the-sole-reason#notes. Forgive me for not doing this sooner.


	12. Unsteady Times

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for taking this long! It was supposed to upload earlier today but holiday plans got in the way. I hope this is worth the wait.
> 
> And a quick warning - halfway through the chapter I will change the point of view because I refuse to split this into two chapters. My sister says she hates it when authors do this, so here's a head's up.

Adora grabbed onto the nearest wall as the ship malfunctioned mid-flight, holding it for dear life. She let out a small breath of relief when Darla became stable again and walked towards the main room. She saw Bow sitting on the captain's chair with Glimmer holding the left arm of the chair.

"What's going on with Darla?" Adora asked.

"The ship has suffered greatly during our battle with Prime," Hordak answered from where he was hunched over in the computer base. He wore a similar black dress of a Horde clone uniform, except that his biceps were showing without the Horde symbol. Adora was going to ask where he got that later. "I already mended the aft starboard ancillary booster. I am working on rebuilding the ship's autopilot, but as you can see from the latest demonstration, it still needs more work. Brother, a blowtorch."

"Yes, brother!" Wrong Hordak replied enthusiastically from next to Adora with a flaming blowtorch in his hand. Adora jumped away from the heat and glanced at Glimmer and Bow questionably.

"What?" Bow asked defensively. "We couldn't just leave him behind."

"Besides," Glimmer added, "he's harmless. Since Bow and I, you know kind of, sort of, fried him and scrambled his brains." Glimmer looked at Wrong Hordak worriedly as he 'ohed' and 'awed' over the blowtorch's fire. She looked back at Adora. "And speaking of people with much-needed recovery time, how's Entrapta?"

"And Catra," Bow continued quickly.

"Both are good, I think." Adora started to fidget her hands nervously. " Entrapta is still sleeping, and Catra refuses to leave her room. I keep checking on them, but nothing's changing. Do you think I should check on them again?"

"Adora, they both need rest," Bow chid.

"Right, right." Adora was able to stay still for two seconds. "But what if they need something? I'm going to check on Catra to make sure-" Adora started to walk towards their rooms again until Glimmer ran to face her. "No, no, no, you're right. Letting them rest." She walked back to Bow's side along with Glimmer, deflating at the moment. Glimmer started to snicker as she lightly punched Adora's arm.

"Come on, guys. We faced Horde Prime and made it out alive." Adora smiled at Glimmer's happiness.

"I honestly cannot believe it worked," Bow said.

"Plus, She-Ra's back," Glimmer added as she hugged Adora before quickly letting her go.

"How did you do it without the sword?" Bow asked.

Adora held her right wrist as she thought of an answer. "I don't know. I just suddenly felt her again. Like she'd never left. Like she's been in there all along just waiting to come out." She tried to put on a happy face that instantly turned to a frown. "I just have no idea how to do it again."

"You'll figure it out," Glimmer said, "What's important is that she was there when your friends needed her the most." She began to laugh again in pure joy. "I can't believe we're going home!" Glimmer hugged Bow, causing Darla to lose her balance and making Adora shout in panic.

"Steering," Bow scolded. He continued after Glimmer apologized. "With Darla damaged, our speed's at thirty percent. If Hordak can't fix it, it'll take us a while to get there."

"As long as we're headed towards home and away from Horde Prime, I'm happy." Glimmer clapped her hands as an idea came to her head. "We deserve to celebrate. I'm going to make us a special dinner for tonight."

"You?" Bow asked with a raised brow. "I've never seen you cook before."

Glimmer chuckled nervously as she raised a finger to try and prove a point, only to lower it in defeat. "You know what? Wrong Hordak can help." Wrong Hordak twisted his head to Glimmer as she reached out to him. "I bet he knows a lot about cooking."

"I am honored to provide nourishment for my exalted brothers," Wrong Hordak said while being carried out by Glimmer. Adora and Bow glanced at Hordak in a plea.

"If it brings you any comfort, he will not poison you unless directly ordered to," Hordak spoke in an emotionless tone from where he was fixing Darla without glancing at the two. Adora wiggled while standing before rushing into Darla.

"I'm gonna go check on Catra again," Adora announce as she was ignoring Bow's shouts. It's been at least five minutes since she checked on Catra. Maybe she's ready to open up now, both metaphorically and literally. Adora took in a deep breath, let it out, and knocked on Catra's door.

"Catra?" Adora asked. "Are you up now? Do you need anything?"

"Yes." Adora smiled. "I need to be alone." 

Adora frowned. "Catra, you've been in there since we escaped Prime. Can you at least tell me if you have any flashes like Entrapta?"

"Yes, I keep having this horrible vision of a blond girl who doesn't know the concept of personal space, knocking on my door all day. Oh, wait." 

Adora reached the emergency lock-off next to Catra's door out of anger but held back, trying to convince herself of how much of a bad idea this is. She wanted no more than to hold Catra in her arms again and make sure she's safe, but if she wants privacy, then so be it. Adora let out a small sigh and left to check on Entrapta, only to turn her walking into sprinting when she heard a scream. Adora ran into Entrapta's room without thinking and almost got hit by a giant lock of hair.

"Hey, hey," Adora said with her hands in surrounder, "It's okay; it's just me." Entrapta fell to the floor and subbed as she curled up around herself. Adora took this as a chance to walk to her and sit beside her on the ground. "Can you describe those flashes to me now, or is it still too fresh?"

Entrapta nodded her. "These flashes are something I've never encountered before. They could be mistaken for nightmares, but nightmares are an element of the trauma I suffered through and daily existence mixed in. They revolve around our feelings and jaded memories of the traumatic event, not the events themselves. But these flashes are images of things I have seen before to the exact detail. I don't know what they are, and it scares me." Entrapta's voice broke as she started to tear up again. "And Hordak hasn't talked to me since we got back. I think he hates for what I did to him, and I can't blame him. I feel like a monster. And I know it's not my fault, but it still feels like it."

"Yeah. I know exactly how you feel." Adora gave her a shoulder in suggestion, and Entrapta placed her head on it before crying harder. It was a few moments before Entrapta was asleep again, and Adora took her to her bed and laid her gently before checking for injuries since she knew from her own experiences how nightmares could make you hurt yourself subconsciously. Besides the worrying dark bags under her eyes, nothing seems to be amiss. _Is this how Bow and Catra felt when I refused to rest?_ Just that thought alone made Adora want to scream in frustration. It feels like everything turned back to before Prime came to Etheria.

"Hey, Adora!" Glimmer called out to her from the storage room. "Do you mind coming here? I need someone to translate the First Ones' writing." Oh, thank Etheria, someone to rant to. Adora walked over to where Glimmer was and couldn't stop her mouth from ranting.

"This whole situation is driving me crazy!" Adora yelled as she walked and threw her hands in the air. "Entrapta is having these visions that aren't allowing her to sleep, Catra has sealed herself from the world while refusing to speak to me, and I feel like such an _idiot_. I thought now that Catra and I might actually have to really talk this time now that we are away from danger. But everything we've been through, she's still a stubborn brat." Adora kicked some random boxes out of frustration.

Glimmer rolled her eyes. " It's funny how even when complaining about everything, you always go straight back to Catra." Adora blushed at that. "And if we are talking about her now, you have to remember how you basically brought her back from the dead. No one can really go through that and then act like everything is all sunshine and rainbows, especially a person like Catra."

Adora sighed in defeat. "I know, I just..." She huffed before continuing. "I just wish things would be easier for once. It feels like every time we take a step forward in reaching out again, something terrible happens, Catra goes back to her basic habits, and I have to start everything all over again!" Adora picked out a weird jello thingy and threw it out in anger. It felt good for one second until it landed on Wrong Hordak's face.

Wrong Hordak bowed before while touching his, not seeming to mind the sticky structure on his face and shirt. "I believe in Horde Prime."

"I'm sorry, Wrong Hordak," Adora apologized to him before turning to Glimmer, who was picking multiple different boxes. "What's he doing here?"

"He's helping me cook dinner," Glimmer answered while walking to his side.

"True nourishment comes from the favor of Horde Prime," said Wrong Hordak before bringing out a small and green container, "Also from nutrient-rich amniotic acid."

"Yeah, well, we're not eating that." Glimmer pushed the acid away while picking a package from the pile she was holding. "I think these rations were Mara's. Does space food expire? What does this one say?"

Adora read the package Glimmer almost smacked her in the face with. "Dehydrated protein slaw." She glanced at Glimmer with a strained smile. "Yum?"

A hologram of Bow abruptly appeared behind them in panic. "Guys? You'd better get here." Adora waited for Glimmer to put her pile and an apron onto Wrong Hordak and ran towards Bow once Glimmer was done. They both rushed to the main room, with Glimmer appearing on Bow's right and Adora on his left.

"What's going on?" Adora asked.

Bow showed them a hologram of their current state. "Sensors picked up Horde ships on our tail. They're coming straight for us."

"It's gotta be a coincidence," Glimmer said, "Prime can't track this ship."

"Is there somewhere we can hide until they're gone?" Adora asked.

"Well, I might have a suggestion," Hordak said as he walked to them. He tapped on the globe in front of the captain's chair, "It's an asteroid field. It will be a highly effective hiding spot, but an extremely dangerous one as well. And with the ship's current state, it might be more trouble than it's worth."

Bow glanced at Hordak. "Super dangerous, impossible odds and one of us could end up losing a foot in a best-case scenario?" Hordak nodded his head. Bow grinned. "Sounds like a Best Friend Squad mission to me. To the asteroid field, it is!"

Glimmer went to Adora and whispered in her ear. "Why does it feel like he's embracing his inner Entrapta and putting us all in danger for the sake of science?"

"Probably because you're still traumatized from the crystal planet," Adora replied, "And nobody has a better idea, so it'll have to do."

Glimmer looked back to Bow before getting to her position. Bow tapped on a keyboard on his armchair and let a yelp as several holograms appeared around him. Two tied around on each of his arms, and Adora guessed those were the stirring wheels. Darla twisted and almost crashed into various asteroids as everyone on the ship lost their balance. Adora could have sworn she heard Bow let out a small laugh. _Maybe he is embracing his inner Entrapta too much after all._

Bow placed Darla in the middle of the asteroid field with a hopeful smile. "Okay, we should be safe in here. Even if they're looking for us, we'll be impossible to spot among the asteroids."

Three Horde ships proved Bow wrong as they shot Darla at her back. Darla rocked when she was shot, making all the current attendants fall to the floor. Hordak tried to stand as he leaned on the computer and pressed on the keyboard, showing the attacking ships' images.

"We have taken damage—Hull integrity at sixty percent," Hordak said, "And the Horde ships are coming directly to us."

"How did they find us?" Adora asked.

Hordak's eyes widen. "Of course, I'm such a fool. Horde Prime will never be able to track this ship; its model is far too ancient for that. There is something on board that could send signals. Something he made himself."

"Those flashes Entrapta's been getting, it's coming from her chip, isn't it?" Adora groaned and grabbed Hordak by the arm. "Once again, the Horde just can't give us a break!"

"Hordak hasn't fixed the shield yet," Bow called out.

"Then try not to his anything!" Adora yelled back as she dragged Hordak out of the room. She turned to face Hordak. "Entrapta thinks you hate her, and we're going to fix that. But first, we're going to Catra to get an extra pair of hands. Got it?" 

Hordak nodded his head mutely as Adora dragged him to where Catra was resting. She let go of Hordak and knocked aggressively on Catra's door.

"What?" Catra screamed.

"Prime is tracking the ship through Entrapta's chip, Darla won't stop whirling thanks to the upcoming damages, and I need as much aid as I can get. You'll have to face us at some point, so get out this door and help us already!"

"No, I don't. Just drop me off on the closest planet. I'll make my own way."

Adora's jaw dropped. "Are you serious? After everything we've been through in the last few months, you're willing to throw it away and just run from us again?"

"Why do you even care? I know you all hate me!"

"I never hated you!" Adora felt her face burning. She didn't know whether it was because of embarrassment or anger, and the silence that followed almost killed her. Finally, after what felt like centuries, Catra opened the door. Adora gasped softly at the sight of her. She looked like a mess.

"Then you're dumber than I thought," Catra looked away from Adora as she talked, "All I do is hurt, people. When you brought me back, I saw all the other times I almost died, and half of them were because of my own mistakes. Don't you see how I don't matter?"

"You matter to me," Adora almost reached out to Catra's hand but stopped herself before she could make another mistake. "Look, all I need right now is some help. We need to get this chip off of Entrapta, and we'll need extra aid for that. You're going to help us, and if you think hiding from your problems will make you feel better, we'll drop you off, and you'll never have to see us again." Adora looked away from Catra, let out a sigh, and stared at the ground. "You'll never have to see me again."

Adora walked towards and Entrapta but stopped in her tracks when Catra grabbed her arm. Catra snaked her palm to Adora's, and Adora couldn't help but blush. "I don't... I don't want to leave you. I just thought none of you wanted me now that my mission was over."

Adora looked at their joined hands and straightened herself up."We would never just get rid of you. You're a part of the team, whether you like it or not. Now all three of us are going to Entrapta, help her through this ordeal, and hope none of us will go insane. Can you agree with that?"

Catra gazed at Adora with all the seriousness she could muster. "Yes."

"Vey well," Hordak said, causing both girls to jump slightly, "May we go onward then?"

* * *

Entrapta gasped as and held her head as more visions came to her, and tried to rise from the bed with shaky legs. She already saw Etheria surrounded by Horde ships, battle bots going into the Whispering Woods, a lost planet, but these new ones were far more disturbing maybe if she could try to hack into her chip-.

Entrapta almost threw up and fell to the floor, losing all nerves in her legs. No matter how many times she tried, using her hair to do anything gives the worst panic attacks she has ever suffered through. Entrapta took calming breaths so her head would stop spinning, only to jump to the nearest wall when the door opened. She saw Adora enter with her hands in the air along Hordak and Catra. Entrapta failed at hiding her shock. _I thought he has been avoiding me._

"Entrapta," Adora said, "Horde Prime is sending ships after us. We think he can-"

"Track our location through my chip and will continue to send ships after us until we remove it?" Entrapta asked.

Adora's eyebrows rose to her forehead. "You knew?"

"Theorized," Entrapta corrected, "I try not to overthink about what happened to me. It doesn't bring good results."

"Entrapta," Hordak said, and Entrapta flinched, "I wish to...Apologize. I have ignored your presence since our escape from Prime, but not for the reasons you think."

"You mean you don't hate me for hurting you?" Entrapta asked in a small voice.

"I could never hate you." Hordak stepped into the room and stood in front of Entrapta. He took out his hand in question, and Entrapta put her palm in his. He took a deep breath before proceeding. "I have been avoiding you because... Because I am starting to forget things again. The damage that has been done to me was far worse than I have thought initially. I wasn't afraid of you as much as I fear disappointing you."

Entrapta squeezed Hordak's hand. "I'm not disappointed in you. I'm mad that you kept this from me, but not disappointed. We are lab partners, and we will find a way to fix this."

Hordak's ears fell. "I am the one who is supposed to be comforting you-"

The ship trembled again as she continued to be attacked. Hordak hugged Entrapta close to him while Catra held onto Adora. It took about eight seconds for Darla to become stable again.

"We're okay!" Bow said through a hologram. "Continue what you're doing."

The group collectively let out a breath. Hordak agreed on freeing Entrapta from the chip since she isn't in the current condition for it. Adora and Catra stood beside the bed while Hordak stood from behind her with the needed equipment. He was just about to cut a cord when more visions came to Entrapta. She saw Etheria in more explicit detail and held the sheets harder while gasping.

"Entrapta?" Catra asked.

"We have to stop," Entrapta said, "The chip is connected to some sort of Hivemind where all the clones are connected through collective intelligence. I... I can see Prime's thoughts just like when... He saw mine. If I can focus hard enough, I think I'll be able to understand his plans."

"Entrapta, no," Adora said, "That is too dangerous. You can't risk him getting back into your head."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Entrapta said casually, "While battling Horde Prime for control over my body, I used two strains of hair and momentarily and hacked into the chip. That's how I was able to break free at the end. So now I can read his thought, but he can't read mine." Entrapta gazed at the wall to avoid their shocked faces. "Can you... Can you all please stay with me while I do it? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course we'll be with you," Adora said, "Right, Catra?"

Catra nodded her head in agreement, and Hordak gently put his hand on her shoulder in support. Entrapta took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing on her brain's foreign emotions and memories. "He's angry. He wants revenge. He wants to hurt us, he's..." Entrapta opened her eyes in distress. Adora and Catra went to her side in panic, but Entrapta focused herself again on the task. "He's attacking Etheria. No," she shook her head, "No, not attacking. He's doing something new but familiar. There is so much noise..." Her hands started to shake. "He's chipping them. He's going to chip them all!" Entrapta opened her eyes in terror. "Horde Prime is taking over Etheria!"

"No," Adora said as she shook her head in denial, "He can't."

"It's already happening," Catra said beside Adora before touching her shoulder, "We have to stop him."

The ship rocked again, this time turning red in alarm as Darla took the damage from the Horde ships. Adora and Catra held onto each other to keep their balance while Hordak covered Entrapta with his body.

"The hull has sustained multiple fractures," Darla announced, "We will be unable to withstand another full-on strike."

Entrapta felt closer and closer to those meltdowns she used to have as a child when her tears started to form. "I can't take the stress of this situation anymore. I want to go home."

"We will," Adora said. They all turned their heads to her. "I'm getting us out of here. Etheria needs us. And I won't let him hurt anyone else." 

"Where are you going?" Catra asked as Adora walked away.

"To send Horde Prime a message." Adora shut her eyes as a sword manifested in thin air as it glitched a few times before it became stable. Adora called for the honor of Grayskull, and barely a few seconds late, She-Ra appeared. Entrapta took note of Catra's blushing face as She-Ra marched towards Darla's hatch, and Entrapta understood why Catra was so attracted to her. Those muscles! Entrapta turned to Hordak once the distraction was over.

"Hordak, before you continue, do you mind recording the procedure for future notes?" Entrapta asked.

"Entrapta, I do not have a recorder here-," Hordak tried to answer.

Catra stepped forward with several items and sat in front of Entrapta on the bed. "Don't worry about that. I brought your recorder and clothes since they're your comfort items. I thought you might have missed them."

"You saved these for me?" Entrapta asked in a small voice.

Catra blushed and turned her head. "Scorpia did. I'm just the delivery service or whatever."

"Either way, I'm happy." Entrapta took the recorder from Catra and clicked on the start button. "Experiment number nine hundred-eighty-two. Removal of embedded Horde chip. Any notes from the operator at hand?"

Hordak hummed with consideration. "The chip appears to be fused with the current subject's nervous system, leeching energy in a parasitic exchange. Extraction is going to be a delicate process, and so I shall make a withdrawal from making any more entries during the development. However, I will add some commentary once the danger itself is out of the way."

"Understood." Entrapta closed her recorder. Her hands twitched and clasped as the noises of the instruments continued to do their work. Catra put her hands in Entrapta's in the form of a question for comforting physical contact. Entrapta gripped Catra as a response. Her hold got more intense as Hordak came closer to finishing.

"Almost," she heard Hordak mumble while sweating bullets, "So close..." Entrapta felt something re-attach itself from her neck, and Hordak sighed in relief. She quickly turned on her recorder as she let go of Catra's palms. "It is done. With the chip's removal, it shall lose its power source, and it won't be able to signal anymore. With the subject's approval, I will study this chip further by putting it in a container."

"Only if we study it together." Hordak blushed at Entrapta's words. They both were ready to study the newest piece of tech and almost exited the room when Catra spoke up.

"Wait, Hordak." She got off the bed in a hurry before looking away from them both. "Do you mind giving Entrapta and me a moment alone? You can be even right next to the door. I just need a moment."

Hordak gazed at Entrapta, waiting for her answer. Entrapta nodded her head in agreement with Catra's request, and Hordak left the room, but not before giving her one last worrying glance. She smiled reassuringly at him and turned to face Catra.

Catra shifted on her feet. "Entrapta, I just wanted to be alone, so I could say how sorry I am."

"Oh, that's okay. I already forgive you."

"And I understand if you'll never want to talk to me again-" Catra's eyes widen. "Wait; what? How can you? I hurt you so badly."

"Oh, I didn't forgive you immediately. You did send me to Beast Island, stole my work to and used it to rip a hole in the fabric of space and time, after all, and I did want to hurt you for that." Catra looked away from Entrapta in guilt. "But then I saw how hard you worked to make things better, and it was hard to stay angry at you. You changed for me in so many ways. I don't think anyone has ever changed this for me before."

Catra started to cry. "This doesn't make any sense. I took everything from you. I almost killed you. I feel like I should have done more for you."

"Like dying? Something you already did not even a full week ago?" Catra's face reddened at that. Entrapta grinned. "You have already done more than I thought you would, and I'm sure Hordak feels the same. But if you really want to help, I do need one favor from you."

"Anything."

"I can't use my hair anymore. Every time I do, I remember how I used it to hurt Hordak, and I just-" Entrapta closed her eyes and hugged herself. "I just can't do it without setting off triggers in my brain. Do you have anything that can help me?"

Catra held her chin in her hand while in deep thought. "I do have an idea. It'll be messy, could probably damage something for good, and if a professional hairdresser were to see this, they would burst into tears."

Entrapta squealed excitedly and jumped on the bed to set herself ready. "I love it already."

"Good," said Catra as she took out her claws. "Now hold still."

Entrapta sat as still as she could while distracting herself by typing on her datapad as Catra used her claws and finger to cut her hair while making braids. Catra was done after ten minutes, and Entrapta screeched from happiness as she looked in a mirror. Her new bangs were even more uneven than the last ones, her hair was in the world's messiest bun, and her undercut was the only straight thing about her. It was disastrous, messy, hand-made, pretty, and imperfect. In other words, it was absolutely Entrapta. Entrapta wore the clothes Catra brought her and went outside to greet her friends.

"Shields and autopilot are back online," She heard Hordak say as she entered the main room, "With the ship's rebooting, it will become fully functional again-" Hordak stopped talking as he laid his eyes on Entrapta with a wide blush. Adora and Bow turned their heads to what caused Hordak to stop suddenly, and Bow sat up from where he was lying on the ground.

"Entrapta," he yelled happily, "You're here."

"And in brand new clothes too." Glimmer said from behind them with Wrong Hordak by her side, who greeted them with an enthusiastic greeting, both carrying large trays of large, stuffed dumplings. "Now who wants dinner?"

Adora and Bow stared at each other as Glimmer and Wrong Hordak laid the trays on the floor.

"Glimmer, you made these?" Bow asked.

"Wrong Hordak helped. Everyone, eat, eat." Adora, Bow, and Entrapta sat next to Glimmer and Wrong Hordak in a circle. They all took a dumpling with a smile. "I used to make these with my mom. She wasn't that good of a cook either, so I figured it would be hard to mess up."

"This is so good," Adora commented next to Entrapta.

"Okay, hold up," said Bow with his hands in the air, "Glimmer, this is amazing."

Entrapta half-listened to the chatter, mostly noticing how Hordak still hasn't joined them. She turned her head to the sound of a door opening, and Catra stood awkwardly while holding her arm. Hordak saw her, lowered his ears, and followed her out.

Entrapta spoke out. "Where are you going?"

Catra and Hordak shared a glance before facing them again. "We're going back inside," Catra said, "Do you want us to get you something first?"

"Catra, this is a Best Friend Squad dinner celebration," Glimmer scolded lightly, "It would be hard to celebrate if one member is missing."

Catra gaped and looked at Adora, who just smiled at her. Hordak stared at Entrapta in a questioning manner, and Entrapta waved him over. Both former dictators shared another glance before going to the circle and sitting next to their partners in crime. Glimmer brought a tray to them, and they each took a piece to eat.

The chatter carried on with several blurred lines, and Entrapta let herself relax while putting in a sentence or two. After getting several compliments on her new haircut, Entrapta finally felt the tightness in her chest disappear. Maybe some changes weren't so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here are two fanarts of my Entrapta makeover. I will add a Hordak one if I'll find a design that satisfies me. https://oldventgremlin.tumblr.com/post/625565656418566144/still-crying-about-raegeiis-future-lab-partner  
> https://nmzuka.tumblr.com/post/625641307621261312/rae-geiger-posted-a-future-lab-partners-pic-on


	13. Krytis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK, BABY. AFTER WEEKS OF FRUSTRATION I AM BACK AND READY TO BREAK YOUR FUCKING HEARTS. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
> 
> (Sidenote - thank you all for your support and I'm excited to continue writing. I hope this doesn't disappoint you with the long wait.)

Hordak walked towards the navigation room with Wrong Hordak in toe, a datapad in his hand while his brother held the wire. Entrapta has requested Hordak to do a task for the rebellion in her place since she, in her words, "needed some me time." It has been about an hour since her request was made, and Hordak is getting worried. He entered in time to see Adora sitting in the captain's chair with an almost glowing sword in her hand. Catra sat on her lap while the archer Bow and Queen Glimmer looked in wonder. Her eyes were shut in concentration, and the sword almost became physical.

Until the datapad in his hand let out a noise, and Adora lost her focus. Queen Glimmer, Bow, and Catra looked at him in annoyance.

"Hordak," Adora asked with a raised brow, "what are you doing?"

"Entrapta has requested me to find a signal to communicate with the rebellion. She said since we are less than a day out from Etheria, we'll be in range to send a message soon." Hordak adjusted the wire in Wrong Hordak's hand before continuing. "But some time has passed since I have last seen Entrapta on the ship, and I cannot find her. Have any of you seen her?"

"Sorry, but we haven't," Queen Glimmer answered with a small smile," We've been all distracted lately. I still can't believe that...that I'm a day from meeting my dad. It's been so long. I can barely remember him."

Bow put a comforting hand on Queen Glimmer's shoulder, a gesture she quickly returned. Catra rose from Adora's lap and staggered to the Queen. "If it makes you feel any better, I fought with him for weeks, and even I'm not ready to face him either. He's just such a _dad_."

The Queen laughed at Catra's words. She stopped after glancing at the stars in front of her and stood utterly still; her friends soon followed the same action. Hordak did not understand why there was a sudden stillness at the ship until he heard a familiar laugh and a squeaky 'hi.' He twisted his head to look forward and almost fainted at the spot. Entrapta was... She was...

"What are you doing?" Hordak shouted in panic.

Entrapta waved happily from where she was floating. "I remodeled my spacesuit, so I could repair the ship from space, where I am!" She continued to laugh in her insane manner as she floated in the crushing void of space. Hordak was sure these pounds in his chest will soon result in a cardiac arrest.

"Do not dare to move. I am going to bring you back this instant! "

"But Hordak-" Hordak didn't bother to listen to her excuses. He pulled on the wire, making sure his brother was with him before running to the hatch door. Hordak could see the Entrapta gloomily move towards them in disappointment. Wrong Hordak closed the door the second she returned to the ship, and Hordak ran to her to check for injuries.

"What were you thinking? Wasn't there any way for you to tinker with the ship without putting yourself in immediate danger?"

"Not really," she answered casually, "Catra, Bow, and Adora had to disengage the wires within the guns so Darla won't lose too much power on their way to Horde Prime. Hence I fixed them myself while adding some _special things_ I borrowed from the Velvet Glove."

Hordak rose a none existing brow. "Should I be worried about these 'special things' ?"

"Not unless the ship starts to glow green." Entrapta wiped her head Wrong Hordak's direction, and started to vibrate. Her voice started to creak. " I was so distracted by Darla that I forgot about the signal. We have so many more things to do!"

Entrapta rushed in the direction of her friends, forcing the two clones to run after her. She ran straight to the navigation center and wasted no time in greetings before opening the mainframe and pulling the cables in whatever way she could. The young group looked at him oddly, to which Hordak simply shrugged his shoulders and returned back to his task.

Entrapta was just about to rip out another wire when her datapad chimed. "Ha!" she exhelmed. "A signal!" The young group twisted their heads towards Entrapta and ran to her side in an instant. They gathered around her in the hopes of seeing their distant comrades. "We're in range. Patching us through to the rebellion's communication line."

Hordak decided to stay back just in case of an adverse reaction to his appearance, but he still listened to every word. After a few moments of tense silence, the face of a young, willowy figure showed on the screen. Hordak recognized her as princess Perfuma of Plumeria.

"Adora?" Princess Perfuma asked in fright.

"Perfuma? What's going on?". Adora's brows furrowed at the girl's tone. The girl tried to answer, but her wavering voice didn't allow her. "We're on our way back. Just hang on a little longer. We're almost there."

"No! Don't come back!" Hordak's ears folded at the princess's sudden rise in volume. Just what was going on? "Horde Prime knows you're coming. There's a trap, a blockade. You'll never make it through. You need to stay away. The rebellion's been compromised. Horde Prime has them." The signal started to weaken as tears swelled in the girl's eyes. "We lost. I'm so sorry; we lost them." The screen started to glitch as someone from behind attempted to attack the princess. It went black seconds afterward.

Stillness followed as the signal was lost, and static filled the tense air. Adora walked back from the group in shock before straightening her back and focused herself on the matters at hand.

"Entrapta, use Darla to find out about the blockade Perfuma mentioned," she started to order around, "Bow, try to see if anyone else can pick up on our signal. There's no way they're all gone."

Catra went to sit at the side of the captain's chair with Hordak standing next to her. They both shared looks as her friends tried their best with the current situation at hand. Adora started to walk in circles as Bow attempted to contact anyone within Etheria.

"Anything yet?" She asked with crossed arms.

The archer frowned at his datapad. "Adora, I am trying, but no one's answering. They're gone."

"Uh-oh," Entrapta said from the computer, "I think I found the blockade Perfuma was talking about." In front of her was a hologram of Etheria surrounded by spaceships. It wasn't hard figuring out who they belonged to. 

Bow's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "That's a lot of Horde ships."

"How are we going to get through that?" Queen Glimmer asked in distress while walking towards the hologram. "If I could use magic, I'd teleport us past it. I've never felt such a lack of magic in my life. Why does space hate me so much?!" She screeched as she threw her hands in the air. Hordak and Catra both succeeded in hiding their grins.

Adora proceeded to scowl after finally deciding to stand still. "Our friends need us. Magic or without magic, we're going home."

"So, your plan is to, what? Ram through an armada of ships?" Catra rightfully questioned.

Adora threw her hands on her hips and glared at Catra. "No!" She glanced sideways before returning to her glaring. "Maybe! We have to try."

Catra rose to face Adora. " You heard Perfuma. They're waiting for us. They could catch us. And if they do-" Catra's hands shook in grief. Hordak could almost see the memories coming to her mind - Entrapta's chipping, the army of clones, Prime's ray hitting her back. Catra looked away from Adora's concerned expression. "Take it from someone who's defeated you guys, like, a lot. Charging in without a plan won't work."

Adora huffed. "Okay, well, heh, you didn't defeat us."

"Adora," Hordak spoke up, "As much as I detest agreeing with Catra, her words do have some merit. The last time you attempted to tangle with Prime, almost none of us made it out alive. It was a miracle we made it out as it is."

"Then maybe you can help us," Bow said hopefully, "when you were with Horde Prime, did he mention any weaknesses?"

"Worry not, brothers!" Wrong Hordak yelled from behind them, causing the audience to stand in attack position. "Horde Prime has no weaknesses, and such we shall not discuss them."

Adora released her clenched fists. "So, there are weaknesses to talk about."

Wrong Hordak moved his head to the side as his eye twitched. "No. Prime is all-powerful."

"But you just said-"

Entrapta quickly cut Bow off. "Wrong Hordak, could you bring us some freezy drinks? My throat is a bit dry from all the excitement."

Wrong Hordak perked up almost instantly. "Of course, brother! I'll be back in just a moment."

Entrapta smiled until Wrong Hordak left the room and turned serious as she faced her friends. "According to Hordak, letting go of Galactic Horde propaganda is one of the hardest things anyone can go through. Wrong Hordak is not ready to face those lies yet, and if we force him to without any sources of comfort, he could end up in a lot of pain."

The young group looked ashamed in themselves. Adora spoke up. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think of this."

Entrapta shrugged it off. "It's okay to forget basic things. I sometimes forget to eat when I'm working on a new bot. Besides, you guys could have just asked me. I was connected to the Hivemind too."

"Absolutely not," Hordak responded briskly," You have suffered enough under Prime. I should be the one to do it."

Entrapta smiled at Hordak. "As much as I understand your concern, I _want_ to do it." Entrapta looked down in resentment. "Horde Prime took the thing I love the most and used to hurt my friends." She looked up with a look of pure determination. "I want to feel in control again, and using his tech against him could help with that.

Hordak shared a look of worry with the group before addressing Entrapta. "Tell us when it becomes too much."

Entrapta nodded her head and went to the computer's keyboard. An odd grimace appeared on her face as she clenched the back of her neck. "Krytis. It's a place—a planet. Horde Prime hates it. I remember reading its name in some flies once on the Velvet Glove's mainframe, but they were all blocked." Entrapta tried to type in the name, but something stopped her from getting the data. "Just like now with Darla."

Adora walked to Entrapta. "Darla, show us." The computer obliged under her command. A hologram of a planet appeared.

"A-ha!" Entrapta yelled in victory. "According to Darla's records, it's located not too far from us."

"Horde Prime sneers in hatred every time he heard just a similar name to Krytis," Hordak added, "He's without a doubt covering a failure."

Adora walked to the captain's chair with furrowed brows. "Set course for Krytis. There's something on there Prime doesn't want us to know about," She said before sitting down, "And we're going to find it."

The ship flew to its route without trouble, thank the stars. All except Hordak and his brother changed into their spacesuits before leaving Darla. It landed on a sickly looking planet, with odd moss and broken vessels on every edge. It was quite obvious something dreadful happened here. Winds rustled as the group stood on a hill to view the past damage.

"Horde Prime was definitely here," Bow said to himself.

"But something made him leave," Adora added before walking down the hill. Catra, Bow, and Queen Glimmer, along with a petrified looking Wrong Hordak followed soon after her. Entrapta was about to join them when her eyes landed on a Horde ship. Her breathing became heavy, and a shaky hand rose to the back of her neck. Hordak put a comforting on her shoulder, ignoring how she jumped on a past request. They both shared a small smile before joining the others.

They examined the destruction around them with Wrong Hordak next to them. At one point, Entrapta sat on Hordak's shoulder, still too traumatized to use her hair, and almost electrocuted herself by touching an exposed wire. The 'Best Friend Squad' (what kind of pitiful name is that?) found an entrance to one of the less destroyed Horde Spires, and Entrapta ran to them, almost tripping in excitement. Hordak jumped down a few stairs, helping Entrapta get to the bottom faster while her friends walked there.

"This place should have a log of the invasion," Enrtapta said while searching for a possible port. Hordak threw a broken door out of the way, and Entrapta let out a cooing sound at their findings. "Catra, bring Wrong Hordak here."

Wrong Hordak let out a weak whimper as Catra pushed him in Entrapta's direction. Entrapta kept him in place before taking the case he's been holding and opening the small computer inside it. "All Horde clones can connect to any Galactic Horde machinery thanks to their mix of organic and mechanical body parts. With Wrong Hordak's freshness and lack of personal memories or information, it should be easy to find some data here." Entrapta explained while putting a cable to Wrong Hordak's neck port. Hordak was thankful she didn't choose him. He could still feel Prime's hands on his throat.

"Good news, my readings show the atmosphere is safe," Entrapta added while looking at her datapad. She threw her helmet to the side along with her comrades. Only Catra seemed to refuse to take hers off. Bow cooed at her, confusing both Catra and Hordak alike.

"What?" Catra asked. "We've been wrong before. A lot, actually."

"If my helmet were that adorable, I'd leave it own too." The archer cupped his cheek and gasped in the same way Entrapta does when she sees a small robot. " _Those ears_."

"It is not!" Catra attempted to take the helmet off, which resulted in a hilarious show of struggle and grunting. Even Hordak wasn't able to keep his chuckles to himself. It wasn't until Catra saw Adora's smile did she smile too. Queen Glimmer and the archer both shrugged their shoulders before Entrapta let out a loud shriek, grabbing everyone's attention.

"I'm peaking up a heat signature." Entrapta showed the princesses her findings while vibrating from happiness. At least the science made a good distraction. "There's someone alive on this planet, right here, somewhere in the Spire."

"Impossible," Wrong Hordak sputtered, "Prime destroyed all life on this planet that doesn't exist." His expression grew more and more desperate with each second. The girls looked at him in concern.

"Well, he missed someone," Adora said, "And we have to find them."

"Pulling up the Spire's schematics now." Entrapta threw earpieces to the Best Friend Squad as she spoke. "We'll guide you through from here."

"Take care of Wrong Hordak while we're away," Queen Glimmer requested.

Entrapta smiled at her. "Of course, we will." The squad almost started their way when Hordak called out to them.

"Halt!" Hordak stated, stopping the squad in their place, "You plan to barge ahead into the structurally unsound building to find an unknown entity to which you know nothing about in the hopes they find some ways to defeat Prime?"

The group blinked at him twice before they all let their mutual sounds of agreement. Hordak looked at Catra in exasperation.

"Don't look at me," she said with her hands up, "I was in shock for two weeks after finding out how stupid their plans were. Honestly, I'm still recovering." A mischievous smile grew on Bow's face.

"Come to think of it," he stated, "isn't this Catra's first mission with the Best Friend Squad?"

"What?" Catra said as if she's looking for a trap of some sort. "No, I've already fought in the rebellion."

"Yeah, but that's not the same," said Queen Glimmer, leaning on the archer's arm, "This is your first real mission with the whole squad without one of us being in a capture. A real first Best Friend Squad mission!"

Catra let a yelp when the two pushed her between, spinning each other around while singing 'Catra's first mission' over and over again. Catra escaped their grasp only to fall onto Adora's arms. She blushed before pushing herself off and started to walk into the Spire. "I'm going to kill our friends."

"Please don't- wait," Adora paused dramatically, " _our_ friends?"

Catra blushed again as she spluttered an excuse, to which she concluded with a hostile 'shut up' and continued on her way, the rest going quickly after her. The squad walked as Entrapta instructed them to with little to no troubles. They came to an odd stop at where should be an entrance.

"Why'd you stop?" Entrapta asked them. "Go through the door right in front of you."

"Entrapta, there's no door." The archer's words just confused Hordak more. Maybe there is an error in the monitors?

Entrapta raised a brow. "Well, the schematics show a door right where you're standing. Data never lies." Perhaps not then.

Wrong Hordak let out a sudden gasp. "The log says Lord Prime retreated from this planet? Oh, this cannot be. Lord Prime does not retreat. He is the almighty conquerer. His dominion is just and eternal." Wrong Hordak started to crumble into himself, his words becoming more and more desperate. Hordak was getting bothered by how well he remembers these emotions.

"Wrong Hordak, I need you to take a few deep breathes-" his brother's scream of anguish stop whatever Entrapta was going to say. He tried to rip the cord out of his neck, and Hordak instantly went to stop him. The last thing they needed was for Wrong Hordak to take out his grief through self-harm.

"What's going on there?" Adora asked in worry.

"Wrong Hordak is not taking this news well. But don't worry! Hordak has his restrains covered, so I can still guide you through this!"

"Okay, I've had enough with this," Catra said, her words being followed by the sound of metal being ripped into pieces, and the squad continued to walk and squabble as if Catra didn't just endanger them by angering whatever lived there. At least Bow was wise enough to mention that.

It was then when Wrong Hordak started to question his very existence. At least he stopped thrashing in his arms, deciding to hug himself instead and become a puddle of tears.

"Entrapta, this floor is clear. Where to now?" Hordak could barely hear Adora over the sound of his brother's bawling. "Entrapta?"

"Sorry," Entrapta answered, "So, good news, we stopped Wrong Hordak from hurting himself. Bad news, he started to question the meaning of life."

"Who am I, if not an exalted brother of Prime?" Wrong Hordak cried out in misery. It was getting harder to breathe. Is Hordak dying?

"Do you want us to get back to help you?" Queen Glimmer asked politely.

"No, we've got everything under control." Entrapta rechecked her datapad for guidance. "I'm picking up more life readings on the next level."

"Upstairs. Let's go." Adora's comm went silent again. Wrong Hordak fell to the ground in misery after his wailing calmed down a bit, and Hordak took as a chance to walk around. Maybe some physical motion could lower his stress.

"Hordak?" Entrapta asked in concern.

"I'm fine," he said, hoping he didn't bark at her by accident, "You should focus on your friends and my brother."

"You're my friend too," Entrapta replied while taking out her comfort blanket. She gave it to his brother, who looked at her in shock before starting to cry for a different reason. Hordak's ears lowered before looking away from her face.

Some quietness followed after his brother went into a mute shock. Every few minutes, Entrapta would check his breathing to make sure he didn't die from grief. A happy laugh escaped her when her data was complete. She turned on her comms to address the squad.

"Adora, are you there?" A small 'click' of the comms answered for her. "Wrong Hordak downloaded the rest of the records from Prime occupation of Krytis. This planet was once a First One's colony like Etheria. It reads here that Horde Prime and the First Ones were fighting for control of this planet, and Horde Prime won. But an unknown force drove him away before he could conquer it. He tried to erase all records of his failure."

"Horde Prime lied to us." An angry look passed on his brother's face. "He is not all-powerful." Oh no. Hordak should focus on his body language before his brother makes another mistake. He toned out of the conversation until Entrapta spoke up.

"Sorry, what door?" She asked.

"What do you mean, 'what door'?" Catra asked back. "The one you told us to go through."

"That wasn't me. This is the first time we've talked since the last floor." Entrapta read her datapad as Catra was suffering a breakdown. "Did your new friend tell you to go through that door?"

"What are you talking about?" Queen Glimmer asked anxiously. "It's just the four of us."

Entrapta frowned deeply. "Hate to disagree, but there's a definite heat signature right behind you."

A still quietness followed by several screams. Hordak tried to understand what was happening, but then Queen Glimmer talked about magic, and he lost track of the conversation. It wasn't until Catra found the mysterious heat signature let out a sneeze that he started to understand what was happening.

"Are you... Are you petting the thing that's been trying to kill us?" Adora asked.

"I'm trying something here if you didn't notice." Catra let out another sneeze, one that her new companion copied. 

"It's just so cute." Bow said. Hordak could hear Adora laughing in the background.

"It's not cute!" Shouted Catra, with a sound of a growling creature right next to her.

"Get away from her!" Adora warned the creature.

"No. Don't," Carta said in defense, "I'm sorry. I got angry. I've been working on it, and I slip sometimes."

"Ohh," Adora awwed, "You have?"

"Yes, I have," Catra answered with a strained voice, "and I think this thing responds to my emotions. So, can you not give me a hard time right now?"

"Sorry, sorry. Do... Do your thing," Adora said. The creature growled as Catra went to comfort it. A blinding light Hordak could see from here emerged, and the comms went silent. Entrapta looked troubled.

"Guys, what's happening there?"

"Catra bonded with a being of magic, and it's telling us its story," Bow answered. "It must have imprinted on her. It... Trusts her."

"Well, it shouldn't. Why is everything with magic so weird?" The creature mewled, and Catra began to translate. "It says its name is Melog. It's been here... By itself for a long time. It thought we were enemies like, um, like the ones that came to take its magic? They dug the ground, built machines."

"The First Ones," Adora realized, "That's what they were doing. They were mining this planet's magic, just like on Etheria."

Catra proceeded to translate. "But they took too much. And then... 'the one who destroys' came. He tried to conquer this place but couldn't. The magic of Krytis was too wild for Prime. He didn't understand what it was. He couldn't use it, couldn't defend against it."

A sudden gasp left Queen Glimmer. "Magic is Horde Prime's weakness." A weird comfort set in Hordak's bones. Magic is Etheria's most significant source of energy. They might actually have a chance now.

"Melog drove Prime off but couldn't defeat him. And now it's the last of its kind." Hordak could feel Melog's sorrow from Catra's words. 

"May I speak to the creature?" Wrong Hordak asked, surprising those around him.

"Sure," Catra said, "Gimmer got her magic back thanks to Melog, so she can teleport us to you. Is not going to make me sick, right?"

"I think it would be best if I just use a mini-portal for now," Queen Glimmer replied. After two seconds, one of Shadow Weaver's circles appeared in front of them. The squad walked out with a lion-like creature by their hip. Wrong Hordak went to Melog and stood in front of it.

"Brother Melog, while I do not know the pain of being the last of your kind, I do know the pain of being lost. Horde Prime has lied to us all and led my brothers and me on a false crusade of destruction. While I cannot promise you immediate freedom from the pain and anguish he has caused you, I can at least promise you that my new brothers will help you without giving up on you once. Will you join us on our fight?"

Melog meowed in thought. After sniffing Wrong Hordak, the creature started to purr while rubbing itself onto Wrong Hordak's leg. His brother started to cry again, only this time softer while thanking Melog for its generous forgiveness. Adora smiled at the exchange.

"Our planet has magic too," Adora added. "It might be the last place in the universe that does. Once you are there, I'm sure you'll feel right at home."

"Um, Adora?" Bow said uneasily. "If we're already speaking of home, we still don't know we're gonna get back to Etheria." Oh. Hordak had completely forgotten about that part.

"Hmm. About that," Catra said with her chin in her hand and a grin, "I think I might have an idea." 

In most cases, Hordak would have been thrilled at a plan. But Catra's smirk was devious. Very, very devious.

_We are all going to die, aren't we?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For context: I took out Catra's sneezing scene because I felt like it would ruin the atmosphere I wrote. Sorry fans of this. I might try to add it later but I don't if I'll have space for it. So again, sorry


	14. Bittersweet returns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing some of the dialogue. I hope you'll enjoy it too!

_We are definitely going to die._

Hordak tried to be optimistic nowadays. He truly does. But this plan was the most absurd thing anyone had come up with in the last twenty-four hours.

"Coming up on the blockade around Etheria," Entrapta informed from the computer, the hologram of the planet in front of her, "They'll have visual on us soon." Hordak took a step further to her right while his brother stood on her left. He wanted to stay close to her in case something goes wrong.

"We sure this is going to work?" The archer asked, mirroring Hordak's dismay over the whole ordeal.

Adora looked as ever bit as a leader when she acknowledged Bow, sitting straight on the captain's chair. "Only one way to find out." 

Adora turned her head to Catra, who turned her head to Melog. "Ready?"

Melog nodded before glowing brightly before turning invincible and spreading his golden dust all over the ship. Entrapta and Wrong Hordak looked around in awe, and Hordak couldn't help but join them. Everything about this felt like a dream.

But as the orbs grew brighter, Darla got closer to the blockade, and the dream slowly turned into a nightmare. The Best Friend Squad (still a terrible name) went to the ship's front to witness the impossible turned probable. No one could keep their terrified expression to themselves.

The young Queen hummed before turning to face Catra. "So, just to make sure I get it, we're running through a Horde blockade while relying on the magic of a creature we just met?"

Catra looked at the scene before turning to the Queen with a grin. "That about sums it up, yeah."

The Queen and archer smiled back, but Hordak let out a groan. "You let these Etherians influence you too much." Their faces quickly turned into frowns.

"Punch it, Darla!" Entrapta slammed her hand on the full power engine key, and the crew screamed as Darla flew straight into the blockade. Hordak, along with Catra and his brother, shut his eyes as the brightness grew too strong to bear. Hordak only opened his eyes when he heard Catra grunt. By the starts, it... it...

"It worked..." Adora said, finishing his train of thought. "It worked. Ah! Melog did it!"

The whole crew started to cheer in joy, with Adora jumping up and down in glee, Bow and the Queen raising their hands in victory, Entrapta cupping her face in shock, and Catra laughing along with the insanity of the situation. Only the two clones stood in shock.

Melog came running to Catra, sharing her happiness over their success with his soft mewls, making Catra smile softly. Her smile turned into a blushed frown when the Queen hugged her while giving a kiss on Catra's cheek.

"Catra saved the day!" Queen Glimmer joyfully said, with Bow forcing Catra into a 'Best Friend Squad hug,' squeezing her between the two of them. Entrapta laughed at it all, and Hordak was starting to feel slightly lightheaded.

The Best Friend Squad went down to the hatch door to view the scenery of their missed home. Meanwhile, Entrapta had asked Hordak and his brother to gather supplies before rejoining the Etherian rebellion. Hordak did as he was told and yelped in shock when Entrapta grabbed him suddenly, along with Wrong Hordak, to join the others after he was done.

The Queen instructed the Horde clones of her teleportation abilities and why they all need to stay close as she brings them to Etheria. Hordak was surprised at how he managed to be teleported without feeling ill. The same could not be said about Catra.

Queen Glimmer cheered when they landed. "Oh! I've missed this."

"Really?" Catra sarcastically asked with Adora by her side, helping her off the ground. "Because I could stand to never do it again." From her voice tone, she sounded as if she was ready to projectile on the ground.

Hordak heard Wrong Hordak gasp next to him. "This place is a true blessing." He wiggled his fingers with a raised brow. "What is this tingling sensation?"

Bow put a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder. "That's warmth, buddy. Welcome to a living planet."

Sadly, the warmth didn't last.

"Hey, I think you guys should take a look at this," Adora said as she looked through some bushes. Queen Glimmer hurridly came to her and gasped in horror at the sight in front of her. The rest of the group came to her to see a damaged camp. The winds around them grew colder.

"No," The Queen said to herself, "Where is everyone?"

"There was a fight," Adora answered.

"Makes sense. Perfuma said the rebellion was compromised." Entrapta chided in between them, her voice growing more desperate as she spoke, "If someone in camp got chipped and went after the rest, it would have been chaos." 

Entrapta entered the camp with a stressed expression, most likely to search for any survivors' clues. The rest soon followed with still quietness.

It was the archer who spoke up first. "Adora, what if... What if there's no one left?"

"We don't know that," Adora stated, "They might have moved camp. Wherever they are, we need to find them."

"Maybe they went back to Bright Moon?" Queen Glimmer suggested. "Or maybe my dad took them to hide in Mystacor?"

"Sorry, Sparkles, but both of those options are out," Catra answered, "A week into the rebellion, Horde Prime already found out where you guys hung out and made sure none of us could go back. And on top of all that, we don't even know who's chipped. Going back to your castle is a death wish."

"Catra's sadly right," Adora admitted, "We should gather intel first so we don't fall into a trap."

"Erelandia is the closest village to camp," Bow said from his tracker pad, "Maybe someone there knows what happened."

The Queen's face lit up. "I'm on it." She forced everyone into another group squeeze before teleporting them away. Catra fell to the ground again from nausea.

"How about a warning next time?" She choked out. Adora was once again kneeling at her side, probably to make sure Catra doesn't vomit.

Queen Glimmer chuckled nervously. "Sorry," she apologized before turning away, "Welcome to..." The Queen's smile died as she looked upon the village. "Erelandia."

Several Horde battle androids guarded the village, along with two Horde clones in the entrance. Surveillance bots flew from the top, bringing their eyes to the galactic Horde banners on the entrance's walls. Hordak was ready to propose a plan until his defects took over. He heard someone call out his name before he hit the ground.

Hordak soon woke up in the Velvet Glove. He recognized the severed screen in front of him and Horde Prime on his throne. What he didn't recognize was the images in the shards themselves. They all looked like different types of battles Hordak had never witness before.

"How many now?" Horde Prime asked impatiently.

"At least a dozen occupied planets," The clone on Prime's right said, "We are stamping out the dissidents, but their message is spreading. They say they are revolting against the Horde in the name of...The rebellion...and...of She-Ra."

Hordak's eyes widen at the mention of the name but quickly returned to a neutral expression so he won't be caught. When he was in the galactic Horde, that name was never uttered, not even once, which means this by no means a memory. Hordak didn't have a chance to analyze the situation before Horde Prime spoke up.

"My heart aches for these misguided children." Horde Prime rose from his chair, and a hologram of an energy source appeared in his palm. "Now more than ever, I am assured of my plan to use the Heart of Etheria to bring peace to all the universe. But without She-Ra, we must find another way to activate it." He crushed the hologram with his hand and turned his head to the other clone. "Find the dissenters and make an example of them. It is time to crush this spark of a rebellion for good. Send word to our sister on Etheria."

Hordak woke up with a gasp, observing his surroundings and noticing he slept on the Queen's folded cape. The others looked at him in worry, with Entrapta flinging herself to his side. He slowly stood with her help.

"I have much to tell you, but we need actual time for that," Hordak explained, "Tell me our plans for now."

Adora brought him a hooded coat. "We are entering the village to ask for information. The townspeople might tell us something, but we need to keep a low profile. Melog and Glimmer will use their magic to make invisible to avoid detection. Any objections?"

Hordak put on the coat. "Currently, none."

"Then let's go."

They entered the town with ease, so easily that Hordak almost felt like the Horde had somehow prepared for this. He thought about "their sister in Etheria" and felt dread in the pit of his stomach. They turned back to visibility after entering the town's main square, with the Queen worried she'll run out of power soon and Melog getting tired.

"So..." The archer started, breaking the silence, "Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room, or...?"

Wrong Hordak spoke before Hordak could. "There are no elephants in these rooms, brother. They are too large to be contained here."

"Oh, he didn't mean it literally," Entrapta said, "he said as the expression that means a major problem or controversial issue that is obviously present but avoided as a subject for discussion because it is more comfortable to do so. Like when you wink, you signal unspoken intent behind your words."

"Winking?"

"A facial expression made by briefly closing one eye." Entrapta smiled as an idea came to her head. "You should try it!"

Wrong Hordak frowned. "Oh, expressing facial emotion is a privilege reserved only for Prime."

"Which is exactly why we should do it."

His brother grunted as he attempted to wink. After a first clumsy try, he did again, with more sharpness and giggles. Hordak would have stopped this foolishness if there wasn't a subject he wanted to avoid.

"Maybe we should go back to talk about Hordak's-" Bow's words were cut off by the presence of a resident hurridly running in their direction. To say he looked frightened was an understatement.

Adora's face lit up. "Oh, there's a local. I'm gonna go talk to him." She went to him and bent her back to his level. "Um, hi there. I was just wondering if..."

"I don't know anything! Please just let me go," The resident said as he shielded himself and shook to his core. "I was just trying to get home."

Adora frowned. "We're not trying to hurt you. We're just..."

"Glory be to Horde Prime. Glory be to Horde Prime," the resident whimpered before running away from the group. His neck was in their view, and Hordak's brows furrowed.

Catra's eyes narrowed, probably thinking the same thing he did. "No chip, but something is still making the locals real skittish. If these people are scared, they're more likely to sell us to Prime than tell us anything important. We should just go."

"Not until we find out if there's any sign of the princesses here," Adora argued back.

"Leave this to me," the archer said with a smug smile, "You may all have magical powers and alien pets, but what we need is the team's resident regular guy." He gave the group a thumbs up before going to a baker in her stand. Wrong Hordak copied his thumbs-up, and Entrapta cheered him on while Hordak groaned to himself. _It's only going to get worse from here, isn't it?_

The archer spoke to the baker, attempting to look charming as he put his chin in his palm and "sparkled" for lack of a better word. Wrong Hordak copied that as well, and Hordak didn't even bother to disguise his groan. _I knew it._ The conversation was going somewhat smoothly until Bow mentioned the princesses, and the baker slammed her stand close on his face. The archer yelped and fell to the ground from the force.

The group went to a secure location before the archer broke the silence again. "So, obviously, at least some of our friends were here recently and made an... impression."

"A town that hates princesses?" Catra asked mockingly. "Sounds like a dream."

"Perhaps we should buy property here," Hordak added without thinking. He quickly changed his tone. "Is what I would have added should I have not seen the light of the rebellion."

"Yeah," Catra said halfheartedly with lowered ears, "Go, team."

"We should split up and look around. Whoever it was could still be close," Adora ordered before things could get worse, "Catra, you take Entrapta, Hordak, and Melog. " She spoke to Melog. "Keep them safe, okay?" Melog purred an answer. "Let's move out."

Catra's group walked over to the town's square while Adora's group went to the shopping district. Seeing as none of them had any social skill besides threats, they opped to use science instead. Catra and Melog acted as the lookout while sitting on the town's square tree's branch. Hordak stood on Entrapta's left as she drew specimens from the ground.

"Once we get these samples analyzed, we'll know if the princesses were here in approximately four to six weeks." She mused to herself. Unfortunately, her musings were cut short by the sound of screaming and loud winds.

Carta glared in the direction of an alleyway. "Found them."

The group ran to the battle and hid behind a building. They all saw a purple woman cast a large tornado, trapping Adora's group within them.

"She's the sister," Hordak said to himself, "How could I have not known this?"

"You knew someone was coming?" Catra asked in disbelief.

"I thought it was just an odd dream," Hordak tried to defend himself.

"Spinnerella, this isn't you," Adora said in the hopes of breaking through to her. "You have to fight the chip."

Spinnerella didn't as much as flinch. "My fight is over. Lord Prime has given me peace. It's for you to join us."

"Not today," the Queen grunted before taking the hands of her friends. They all screamed and fell to the same alley as Catra's group. Catra's group moved aside for their fall, so thankfully, no one was seriously injured. 

"Prime really did it," Adora said as she recovered from the shock, "How... How are we supposed to fight our own friends?"

Catra scuffed. "It never stopped you before." There were some hurt feelings there Hordak wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole.

Unfortunately, Spinnerella had found them before anyone could utter another word. They all had to cover their eyes from her strong winds, and from the sound of her shouting, the next attack might doom them all. Hordak was sure he would die until a new figure came out of the sky and shielded them.

"Hey, guys," the white-haired woman said, "Welcome back." She pushed Spinnerella away with her blue shield, forcing the winds to draw backward. 

Spinnerella smirked. "Hello, beloved." Those words alone caused the shielding woman to attack Spinnerlla recklessly with a growl. _Just how much emotional baggage is there within the rebellion?_

The two women fought for as long as the shielding woman could, but she was obviously holding back, unlike her opponent, who threw everything she had. Queen Glimmer had to teleport everyone away from the upcoming damage and landed them in the Whispering Woods. Hordak lost consciousness again just as they landed. He opened his eyes to the Velvet Glove's cloning room as he was walked along with Prime in the upper rows as Prime sighed to himself.

"There is something I am forgetting. It plays in the edges of my mind." Horde Prime stopped in front of a tube containing one of his old forms. "Long ago, I heard that name before, though it fell on different ears." He turned to acknowledge Hordak. "Prepare the vessel. I must access the memories stored in this version."

Hordak went to the keyboard and typed what was needed, confusing him entirely. He has never been in this area. How does he know these things?

 _It is I, brother._ A voice in his head whispered in his head as Prime looked into the memories of his old vessel. _I am the one who has been communicating with you._

 _Why?_ Hordak asked. _Why are you letting me possess you? And how?_

_In all the years Prime has lived on, you didn't think other clones would defect like you? I am from the twentieth generation of the forsaken ones, those who were burdened with the truth of our existence, and I might not be alive tomorrow._

Hordak gasped softly at his brother's words, catching the attention of Horde Prime. "Is something wrong, little brother?"

Hordak straightened his position and lied through his teeth. "It's an honor to bask in the glory of your former selves, Lord Prime."

Prime walked away without another word, and the voice returned. _You must return to your comrades before he notices anything odd. I promise you, if I am gone tomorrow, someone else shall take my place._

 _Wait-_ Hordak begged in his mind as he woke up to the sound of shouting. He sat up gurgly to see the Queen and the shielding woman land on the earth, and the shielding woman wasted no time in arguing. "What were you thinking?"

Bow came to hug the shielding woman from the side. "Netossa, I'm so glad you okay."

Netossa gently pushed the archer away. "Why'd you do that? I've been tracking Spinny for days. I almost had her."

"Looks like she almost had you," Catra remarked from the tree she leaned on.

"Not helping, Catra," Adora said back with a tired look. Netossa angrily turned away from the girls when her eyes landed on Hordak, his brother, and Entrapta.

"Horde clones!" She shouted as she tossed one of her nets at them. Entrapta quickly took out a laser knife from her belt and cut the net in midair. Netossa's eyes narrowed.

"And a Horde sympathizer." She almost threw another net until Adora grabbed her wrist from behind.

"They're with us," Adora explained. "It's a long story, but they're on our side now."

Netossa threw her wrist of Adora's hold. "So you're saying the only person I am fighting is... my own wife?" Her stand deflated by the time she finished.

Adora put a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Netossa, what happened to everyone else?"

Netossa let out a heavy breath. "They got spinny first. And she got to the others. She chipped them. Mermista, Scorpia... King Micah. Prime is forcing them to attack the people of Etheria—to attack us. The other princesses are in hiding, trying to figure out what to do next, but we can't wait for them. All I know is, I have to get Spinnerella back. Whatever it takes." 

The fierce expression Netossa had as she finished contrasted from the defeated looks the young ones had.

"We were gone. We weren't there to help our friends," The archer said with deep sadness, "And the people we were supposed to be fighting for have lost hope in us."

Adora closed her eyes in pain and opened them in tears. "Horde Prime tore our home apart. He took our friends. He's not gonna stop until he's taken everything from us."

Stillness covered the group like a heavy blanket. Netossa looked away from Adora's unshed tears as hers fell, Catra petted Melog for comfort, and Entrapta put her hand on the back of her neck.

Queen Glimmer shed two tears before going to the weeping woman and her a reassuring hand on the shoulder. "Netossa... I'm sorry. We should have been here. But we're here now, and we're not giving up." The Queen smiled to herself as she faced her friends. "We've never faced bigger odds than this, but for everything that Prime has thrown at us, he still hasn't managed to stop us. We're going back for Spinnerella and for the people of Erelandia and to show Prime that Etheria's not done fighting yet." She demonstrated her powers to prove her points. "We'll need everyone's help to pull this off. So?"

Adora brought out her She-Ra sword. "We won't let Prime win this one."

Hordak and Entrapta shared a glance. "We're in." She said for them both.

"I am honored to fight beside my brothers," Wrong Hordak added.

"Sure. Why not?" Catra replied nonchalantly. "I have some experience with taking out princesses."

The group put their hands in a circle holding thing, and Hordak only put his hand in after Entrapta did to make sure it's safe. After a small 'thank you' from Netossa, Queen Glimmer teleported them back to the village. After they all planned their next move, Hordak and Wrong Hordak went to the two clones guarding the town in the hopes of separating them from Spinnerella.

"The rebels have been sighted in the outskirts of the woods," Wrong Hordak said, "Come at once."

The clones followed them out of the village, just as they prepared. The clones came to a halt after they crossed the river bridge. "Where are the rebels?"

Wrong Hordak turned to them and wink. "Right beside you. Ah?"

Hordak groaned into his hand as he facepalmed. "I cannot believe I am related to you."

The two Horde clones barely had time to gasp when the princesses knocked them out. Hordak and Entrapta stayed behind to take out any upcoming bots while the rest went in to take back Spinnerella. It wasn't until they got a signal from Bow did they enter the town. They came to look at the damage the battle had caused.

"She's still in there. I saw her," Hordak heard Netossa say," We can get her back, I know it."

Hordak felt odd relief at that. He couldn't tell why but knowing there was a way to save their fallen comrades gave him comfort. His ears picked up on the sound of people cheering, and his confusion only worsen. Shouldn't the locals hate them for the destruction they caused?

Netossa was supported up by She-Ra. "It's good to have you guys back." Her good mood was something Hordak started to care about, and so a decision was made.

"I went through something similar," He said in a hopefully assuring tone, "Horde Prime took someone I hold dear and used them to hurt her friends and me. And since we've succeeded in setting ourselves free, I believe your... dear one can be saved too," He finished in the purpose of emotional comfort. Seeing as Netossa smiled at him without tossing another net, it's safe to say the mission has been a success.

Their moment was interrupted by a shopkeeper. "Princesses. I still think you sort are trouble but thank you for freeing our town. I don't know what we can do, but if the rebellion ever needs anything, you can always find a friendly face in Erelandia."

Bow and the Queen couldn't contain their joy as they hugged the shopkeeper. She-Ra lifted up her sword and shot a ray of light into the Horde symbol hologram, replacing it with the She-Ra symbol instead.

Catra gave She-Ra a worried glance. "I think Horde Prime is going to know She-Ra's back."

She-Ra simply smirked. "Good."

Hordak wanted to join in on the joys of victory, but a splitting headache distracted him from that. When he opened his eyes, he saw Horde Prime slamming in hand on the shard with She-Ra's face, breaking it into pieces. Hordak could feel his heart get stuck in his throat.

 _Be assured. He never harms us if there's an object around to take his fury on._ His brother's voice said in his head. 

"Set coordinates to Etheria," Prime said as he walked away, "Crealy, I am going to have to handle this embarrassment myself."

Hordak shut his eyes again as he held his head. He opened them to the worrying eyes of his associates.

"Hordak?" Entrapta asked in a concerned voice.

"Forgive me for cutting your celebrations short," he answered, "but we need to prepare ourselves. Horde Prime is furious and is coming to Etheria as we speak. And I don't think he's going to be merciful this time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, I will explain everything in the later chapters. Please don't send hate comments.


	15. Unexpected Visitors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how badly I wanted to get this chapter over with. I hated writing this so much. At least now I can move on to better angst.

The squad walked behind Netossa as she took them to what was left of the rebellion, and Catra felt like she recognized this path. She gasped along with Glimmer when they got to a former Horde hideout where they almost killed the other. 

The irony of a Horde cave hiding the rebellion's last hope was not lost on Catra.

"This is where the rebellion is hiding out?" Glimmer asked with raised brows.

"Yep," Netossa answered, "Why? Have you been here?"

Catra and Glimmer shared an embarrassed glance before Bow ran in between them like an excited puppy. 

"Oh, I can't wait to see everyone-" Whatever Bow was going got cut off by his scream as vines wrapped around his body and stilled him in midair. Several other vines trapped the rest of the group in a cage before Perfuma stepped out of the shadows.

"Show us your neck!" She yelled while pointing her finger at them in what Catra thought was supposed to be threatening.

Netossa just looked tired. "Perfuma, they're good."

"Your necks!" Perfuma repeated 'threateningly.'

"Darling, would you calm down? I think we all learned the hard way what the chipped symptoms are, and they have none of them." A familiar voice said. Catra's eyes widen. 

"Double Trouble?" Adora asked in shock. They were all so surprised; they didn't even notice Frosta checking their necks.

Doube Trouble just snickered. "Oh, how I _love_ raw reactions."

Frosta gave Perfuma a thumbs' up, and the squad was released from their vine prison. Perfuma hugged Bow as she slowly put him back on the ground, Glimmer ran to toss Frosta in the air, and Swift Wind almost crushed Adora when he flew into her. Emily beeped and went straight to Entrapta. 

"Emily!" Entrapta yelled out happily. She turned to smile at Wrong Hordak after noticing how he backed away. "Wrong Hordak, meet Emily."

Wrong Hordak began to whimper as Entrapta took his wrist and force it over to Emily. Thankfully, Emily got the message and moved towards his open, trembling palm. They make contact, and Wrong Hordaks whimpers turn into a soft, bewildered gasp. The wonder was short-lived and turned into a cry when Perfuma threw herself onto Entrapta in a tight embrace.

"I'm sorry I put you on a leash!" She cried as she choked Entrapta. "I'm sorry I left you in the Fright Zone! I promise I'll do better now!" The last word dragged on with her sobbing. Catra sighed tiredly.

"Okay, flower crown, time to break it up." Catra had to admit, Perfuma had a serious grip for a hippie. Both Netossa and Double Trouble had to get to Catra's side to pry off Perfuma from Entrapta.

Catra side-eyed Double Trouble when they were done. "Why did you join the rebellion, anyway?"

Double Trouble shrugged. "You know how it is, kitten. When extremists like Prime show up, poor little mercenaries like me are forced to be the good guys. It just hasn't been as fun with Prime taking away all the spotlight for himself." Double Trouble puts a hand to their hip and pettily glares to the side, clearly annoyed by what Prime had done to their job and passion.

"Huh," Entrapta from the ground said, "from what I understand by studying Catra, this is a cold response to disguise your actual genuine feelings in a way to make you seem more apathetic than you actually are."

"And you must be Entrapta," Double Trouble said as they helped her up. "I've heard a lot about you. You're going to be a fascinating case to study."

Catra rolled her eyes at the exchange. She looked at Hordak from behind them, having stayed in the background out of nerves or something. She tried to give him a comforting smile. "I think it's your turn to meet everyone else. Don't worry. They don't bite like me."

Hordak smiled at her and went walked into the sunlight from the shadows- only for Frosta to punch him square in the face. His body fell limply on the ground before Catra even blink as she and Entrapta ran to his side. 

"Does she do that to all newcomers?" He asked as he stood up.

Catra smiled uneasily and showed off a scar on her chin from beneath her fur. "Only for the Horde ones on their first day."

"Now that's that out of our systems, I think we can carry on with the plans." Frosta's words gave Catra anxiety. _Just how many people wanted to punch me in the face?_

Perfuma walked to Netossa's side. "Did you find her?"

Netossa's expression turned pained. "I did, but..."

"Spinnerella got away, but we'll get her back," Adora said, her voice never wavering. "We'll get all of our friends back. There's still a chance to save them. This war has only just begun."

"Then perhaps we should enter the hideout and plan our next move," Hordak said next to Adora. The group entered the cave, and a chill ran down Catra's spine. She half expected a pillar to drop on her again. Double Trouble gave her a wink, most like the closest thing they'll ever give to a soothing gesture.

The crowd gathered arrowed six boxes laid side by side as a table while Sea Hawk and Swift Wind stood guard outside. After Netossa did a demonstration of all the princesses' weaknesses, which _did not end_ with Catra being sprayed with water and trapped in a net, Adora finally started to discuss new plans.

"We need to stop the chipped princesses before they hurt anyone else. We've lost track of Spinnerella after Erelandia, but there is good news. We know where Scorpia is. Bow?" She cleared her throat when he didn't respond. "Uh, Bow?"

"Huh?" Bow said from his datapad, something that will give him an anxiety attack from the looks of it. "Oh, uh, right. After wreaking havoc on a town along the coast, Scorpia has returned to the Fright Zone."

"And that's not all!" Entrapta said from Bow's right. "After studying my chip along with the report of Spinnerella's condition, I have calculated that Spinnerella has the biggest chance of defecting. Thanks to the extra fat in her neck, the chip most likely couldn't properly attach itself to her spine, which would explain why she was able to fight back in Erelandia."

"And the one with the second big chance is Scorpia, right?" Perfuma asked optimistically before putting a flower crown on a miniature Scorpia figure. "She has the biggest and strongest heart. If anyone can resist his programming, it's her. She'd never hurt her friends."

Entrapta's brows furrowed. "Unlikely. In fact, it's the exact opposite of what you just said. Prime created the chip for the 'perfect' Etherian figure, which means Etherians with unique body structures will have an easier time resisting commands. That's how I was able to defect. Prime couldn't control the entirety of my brain, so I used two rogue hair strands to hack into my chip as much as I could."

"You hacked into your own chip while fighting Hordak?" Bow asked in disbelief. "Entrapta, that's amazing."

"And painful," Entrapta replied with a neck rub, "But Scorpia was one of the people Prime had in mind when he created the chip. She is the one who will have the hardest time resisting. It's probably for the best if we focus on un-chipping Spinnerella instead and on restraining the other princesses."

"So we can't save her at all?" Perfuma asked in a small voice.

"No, I didn't say that." Entrapta sighed before continuing. "Defecting from the chip was the most terrible thing I had to go through. I don't like remembering it. Even with everything I did, I was still under control and had to hurt my friends. Scorpia is still in there, and talking to her can help, but chances are we won't be able to fully save her until I learn how to deactivate the chips." Catra gave Entrapta a soft hand on the shoulder if she wanted it, and Entrapta leaned into the supportive gesture.

"And we'll save her by planning ahead together." Adora pointed to the maps. "If we make our way through the desert, we can enter the Fright Zone through here. Catra, Melog, we'll need you to cloak us-"

Catra toned out the rest of the conversation, knowing they'll probably repeat the plan later for any last-second changes. In the end, they agreed on a four-member team up with Perfuma, Netossa, Adora, and Catra. With the plan being a stealth mission and Melog still recovering from using his magic on Darla, a small squad sounded like the best option. They made themselves visible again after hiding behind a metal pillar in the outskirts of the Fright Zone. Netossa and Perfuma continued onward, but Adora and Catra stayed behind as their memories came back to them.

Adora sighed while she looked at the scenery of their former home. "It's weird, isn't it? Being back? So many memories here."

"Most of them bad," Catra said with lowered ears. She looked at Adora with her frowned expression and tried to think of something to make her feel better. Even when they were kids, Catra always wanted to make Adora laugh, just so she could forget about their lives for a few moments. Her ears rose as an idea came. "Hey, bet I can still beat to the forge."

Adora smiled as Catra gave herself a head start. "Yeah, because you always cheat!"

They both laughed as they raced to the forge, trying to outrun the other as Melog kept them invisible. Their laughter echoed with their steps, both of which turned to halt at the sight of the hallway. Several broken old bots laid in the ground, and the walls looked shredded as if a wild animal took out its anger on them.

"Huh," Adora said as they entered the forge, "Well, it's different than I remember it."

"Hordak and I may have had a small disagreement before Prime took us," Catra said casually while pointing at the gigantic whole by their side. She was over it by now anyway.

"Woah," was the only thing Adora commented as they moved onward. Adora, Catra, and Netossa hid behind a wall, and Catra looked around for Perfuma. Where is she?

"Scorpia?" Perfuma called out _loudly_ before walking to the next hall.

"What is she doing?" Catra asked, questioning to herself why they thought bringing Perfuma along was a good idea.

"Scropia?" She called out again without even thinking.

"Get back here!" Adora harshly whispered before chasing Perfuma. Catra ran after Adora on instinct.

"No," Catra heard Netossa complain, "Does no one understand what stealth means?"

They all ran to the next room, with Perfuma calling Scorpia over and over again. The lights started to turn on, red lighting appeared around them, and lo and behold, Scorpia showed up by destroying the wall behind in an aggressive show of power.

"Still think this was a good idea, flower crown?" Catra asked Perfuma bitterly, standing in attack position with her hairs on edge.

Instead of attacking, Scorpia just stood there with her eyes closed. If Catra's hair were to stand any taller, they would start to shed.

"What's she doing?" Netossa asked, sounding on as much edge as Catra felt. "Why isn't she attacking?"

"She recognizes us," Perfuma said with too hopeful eyes, "I knew Entrapta was wrong. Scorpia would never hurt us."

Perfuma ran to Scorpia, calling out her name again while chuckling like a dumb teenager. Scorpia opened her pure green eyes, aimed her pincer at Perfuma, creating a ball of red lighting. Adora ran to Perfuma, shoving her out of the way before any serious damage could be done. The lighting ended up almost hitting Netossa if Catra wasn't there to push her out of the way, hitting the back wall instead. 

They ended up hiding in pairs, with Adora and Perfuma hiding behind a metal pillar on the right with Catra and Netossa on the left. Catra could hear Perfuma trying to say something, but a different scent could Catra's attention.

"Scorpia's not alone," she said to Netossa, "I can smell Mermista from here. What should we do? "

Netossa thought to herself before speaking. "If those two end up fighting side by side, their combination of water and electricity will be deadly. Find Mermista and distract her for as long as you can. I'll explain your leave to them."

Catra nodded before jumping on Melog's back and chasing after Mermista's scent. She ended up in a distant hall from them, dark and dying like the rest of Fright Zone. Melog beneath her started to growl, and Catra petted him to calm him down.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," she tried to reassure, "It's not like there is a water source she can use here."

The pipes around Catra started to rattle as water leaked out of them, sending a chill down her spine. A massive water wave came from the next hall, and Melog had turned Catra invisible before the tide could drown them. Mermista exited the wave, looked around for any intruders, and moved on to the next hall.

Catra and Melog followed her silently, waiting for her to lower the water before attacking her from behind. Mermista yelled as Catra attacked her neck and threw her over the shoulder.

"Hiding is pointless," Mermista said to them. Catra proved her wrong by hitting her twice in the head from each side. Mermista tried to hit Catra back with her tides but ended up destroying several pipes instead. "Show yourself and kneel before Horde Prime's might."

"Not a chance," Catra said before tackling Mermista to the ground. She was ready to rip the chip off of Mermista's neck, but the edges of it were far too deep into her skin. Green liquid started to run through Mermista's veins, forcing her to wake and send a wave to throw Catra off her back. 

Catra ended flying into a wall, grunting and coughing out water as Melog shielded her. Catra jumped into his back before Mermista could get a chance to turn them into pancakes. They ran as fast as they could to the nearest communicator while also distancing Mermista from the other chipped princesses. An effort that almost drowned them several times. 

Catra had finally found a communication pad in the Horde prison center, calling Bow before the next attack could end her. The wave loomed over her as he answered.

"Woah," Bow said from the screen with Glimmer and his dads by his side, "Are you okay?"

"Get us out of here, now!" Catra yelled at the screen.

"What's going on?" Glimmer asked.

"The whole thing was a trap," Catra screamed as the water touched her ankle and jumped to a higher surface, "Why did I think fighting the water princess was a good idea?" 

Catra continued to scream as the water continued to reach her level, with Melog hissing next to her. Glimmer told her to stay put (as if Catra can go anywhere), came seconds afterward, and teleported her to their secret base. Bow saw them in their sorry state and immediately came to her with blankets. Catra gave him a thankful smile before drying her fur.

Perfuma and Adora came after her, with Netossa and Spinnerella coming last. Adora ran to their side after seeing how pale Spinnerella was.

"I got her," was all Netossa said as she hugged her wife closely. Adora smiled at the pair, and Catra looked away from the scene, deciding to address Perfuma instead.

"So, how did the whole 'talk about our feelings' approach go?" Catra asked sarcastically.

Perfuma took a deep breath. "I'll admit, it didn't go exactly as plan, and I do owe Entrapta another apology, but she's still fighting. She ended up missing us— _on purpose_. As long as I know Scorpia's still in there, I won't lose hope. I'll just listen to Entrapta's advice better."

Perfuma chuckled to herself on the last sentence, and Catra felt like she missed something to make it actually funny. Catra was about to say something back but decided to deflate and sit on a box next to Perfuma instead. "Scorpia's lucky to have a friend like you."

Perfuma turned to Catra with a gasp, which turned to a smile as she stood up to hold Catra's shoulders in place. "Catra, there was something I wanted to tell you before you left Etheria: it's hard keeping your heart open. It makes you vulnerable. But it doesn't make you weak, and I have to believe it's worth it." 

Catra looked away from Perfuma's grin as she released her shoulders and smiled shyly to herself with a blush. "I think I'm starting to understand that."

Perfuma giggled and hugged Catra. "If you want, we can work through some guided meditation to begin to unblock your abandonment issues and your negativity."

"Nah. Uh-uh. No," Catra immediately rejected before moving away from Perfuma, "one thing at a time, okay?"

"Hey, Catra?" Bow called to her. "We have a Best Friend Squad meetup thanks to what Glimmer and I found. Can you come here for a sec?"

Catra gave Perfuma a small goodbye wave and ran to Bow's side. Adora and Glimmer were already there, with the ladder forming a magic lighting circle on the floor thanks to the darkening skies. Bow gave a rundown of what happened while they were away, and Adora almost looked too hopeful to bear.

"A failsafe. There's a failsafe for the Heart of Etheria," Adora said in disbelief before laughing in relief, "Mara did it. This could work. We can still save everyone. We can stop the Heart of Etheria for good." She turned to face Bow. "Do we know what it is? Or where is it?"

"All we know is that it's supposed to be in a place called Arxia." Bow answered. "Other than that... we've got nothing."

Catra was about to comment her thoughts until a familiar scent reached her nose. A familiar, disgusting, terrifying scent that almost ruined her for good several during her childhood. Catra's eyes widen in fear. _No, no, no, no, no. I'm not ready yet. Please, I'm not ready yet._

But whatever God lived these days decided to ignore her begging. Shadow Weaver had entered the cave with Castaspella by her side, and Catra wanted nothing more than to hurt something. 

"I know where it is. We have to go to Mystacor."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About Perfuma listening to Entrapa's advice better, I wrote a scene in my head where Perfuma adds a sobbing "I should have listened to Entrapta better" while she broke down next to Adora. Unfortunately, it didn't fit with the current P.O.V, so I had to scrap that. Maybe one day, I'll write this chapter from Adora's P.O.V.


	16. Rebellions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! This was, without a doubt, one of the harder chapters to write—so much original dialogue. I almost didn't finish it in time.
> 
> (This chapter was bland self fan service, and I LOVE IT. This is why I wrote fan fiction.)

_ I have to choose - I have to choose between them. _

Those dark thoughts have been floating inside Entrapta's head for the last hour or so as she analyzed the computer's data. After studying Spinnerella's chip and it's consequential damages, combined with Hordak's current forced absence, Entrapta felt like her positive attitude was dying out. She was so focused on the matters at hand that she didn't even notice Bow saying hello to her, causing Entrapta to jump what felt like five feet in the air while shrieking.

"Sorry!" Bow shrieked back. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to check how things are with you."

Entrapta sighed. "Truthfully? Not great. I was finally able to remove Spinnerella's chip, but it was a lot more difficult than removing mine. The chip had almost entirely fused to her nervous system. If we'd waited any longer, I'm not sure we would've been able to get it off at all. The chip would have become a part of her." She finished her sentence with a grimace.

Bow held his chin. "That means we're running out of time to save everyone else."

"Yes. Luckily, I have found a solution," Entrapta changed the screens of her computer. "This is a network that connects all the chips to Prime's hivemind. Once I figure out how to crack his signal pattern, I could disrupt it, severing his connection to the chips and taking them all off-line at once."

"Entrapta, that's amazing," Bow said with a smile. He looked like he was ready to praise her more until he saw her dark expression. "Is something wrong? Usually, you jump in joy from something like this."

Entrapta couldn't hold it in anymore. "It's Hordak. He's been in some sort of coma for the last two hours, and I can't leave his side. Usually, I have Imp or Scorpia assist me now, but Imp has been missing a long time, and Scorpia is one of the few who got chipped, and I miss them both and-!"

"Entrapta! Calm down," Bow said, putting his hands on her shoulders, "I want to help you, but you're talking too fast. I need you to take a deep breath and slow down. Okay?"

Entrapta nodded her down and tried to calm down her breathing. Tears formed in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away.

Bow smiled. "Good. Now, what was that about Hordak being in a coma?"

Entrapta looked down before turning her gaze to her lab partner, lying in his own private area with as many pillows as she could find. His body won't stop twitching and sweating as he constantly moved in his sleep, most likely thanks to the strain. Her gaze averted back to Bow, who looked at the scene in shock. "Hordak suffers from a chronic pain disorder, and it's what caused his previous fainting spells. I believe that Prime gave him something to hide the pain, and whatever it was has worn off by now. Usually, I'd have Imp monitor him, but Netossa told me that ten hours before Spinnerella starting chipping everyone, Imp went missing. At the start, she thought he was playing with the village kids or searching for more broken tech for me. But then the chipped members started attacking everyone, none of the remaining rebellion knows where he is, and I keep thinking about the worst-case scenarios!"

Bow went back to his thoughtful expression. "And because Scorpia was your only best friend who you can trust is under Prime's control, you feel alone in all of this?" Entrapta nodded. "Then I'm staying with you."

Entrapta's widen. "But Bow, Glimmer needs you."

"Glimmer already has Castaspella and Adora by her side. You only have Double Trouble, Sea Hawk, Frosta, and Wrong Hordak. All of them great in their own way, but none of them are dependable. So, do you want me to stay?"

Entrapta was ready to say answer no, thinking of all her friends who needed him in Mystacor, but then she thought of her situation. She thought of Hordak lying in pain, of the signal that needs to be found, of Scorpia who needed her help. After a few moments of consideration, she agreed to Bow's suggestion. Bow smiled at her and went to say goodbye to their friends.

In the meantime, Entrapta went back to studying the signal pattern while Bow looked after Hordak, making sure his pain wasn't getting any worse. An hour went by, and Entrapta still wasn't close to solving the signal problem. Her frustration was growing by the minute. Double Trouble went to her side after noticing her tense state.

"You alright there, darling?" They asked from behind her. "You look when Kitten was two steps away from murder."

Entrapta huffed. "I'm so close to cracking Prime signal pattern, but Spinnerella's chip's not enough. I need to find a place with a high concentration of clones, so I can analyze their connection to the hivemind. But I can't leave Hordak, so I'm stuck."

Double Trouble's eyes sparkled. "You mean you have to go to a place crawling with clones where one small mishap can get you killed?"

"... Yes?"

"This sounds like a challenge made for me! I've been  _ dying  _ to practice my acting skills," They changed themselves to look like an average Horde Clone. "What do you think? Ahem, Glory Be To Horde Prime." They finished their sentence with a dramatic pose, rising their arm high and looking near tears as if the heavens were shining on them.

Entrapta laughed for the first time in days. Their impression was too overdramatic to be taken seriously, and judging by Double Trouble's smirk, this was the exact reaction they wanted.

Wrong Hordak saw the pair, and his eyes widen. "Oh! Are you going on a mission to deceit Horde Prime? May I come with you?"

"Clones are known to come in pairs," Entrapta said to herself, "So it would be best if Wrong Hordak goes with you."

Double Trouble clapped their hands. "Wonderful! Who knows, maybe I can teach some more 'deceitful' tricks on the way."

Wrong Hordak perked up. "Like winking?" He winked 'boldly' as an example, looking cuter than a baby kitten.

Double Trouble stared at him as if they had difficulty containing their bewilderment. "Oh, you are going to be  _ fun  _ to work with."

"Don't stay out too late," Entrapta called out to them. "And take Swift Wind with you. He can get you there faster and get you out if there is trouble."

"Will do so, brother," Wrong Hordak said with another wink. 

"We should really work on your timing, darling," Double Trouble said with a grimace. They took Entrapta's wire and tracker pad before walking out, weaving Sea Hawk goodbye who took lookout duties. Entrapta was just beginning to relax when Bow called out her name. 

"Entrapta?" He asked anxiously. "I think there's something wrong with Hordak."

Entrapta dropped everything and ran to Bow's side. She looked over Hordak, and her heart stopped beating in her chest. He was so still.  _ Too still _ . Entrapta wasn't even sure he was breathing.

"Turn him to his side," she commanded Bow, "I need to connect his pots to my workstation from Krytis. I'll be back in a second."

Entrapta hurried to get all the equipment she needed, including some thick wires and went to Hordak. She connected all the required ports while avoiding his neck area and waited until the computer showed her the results. There were no words that could describe the relief she went when his vitals were displayed to be going strong. 

Bow was just confused. "I don't understand. How could his pain just disappear like this?"

"I don't know," Entrapta answered, "But for now, we should focus on making sure his body stays hydrated and warm. Coldness makes the muscles more rigid."

"I'll bring some extra blankets," Bow said before putting a comforting hand on her shoulder and walking towards the medical area.

If only Entrapta could see what Hordak was dreaming about.

* * *

_Hordak felt peacefully numb. The kind of numbness one with his pains could only dream of. When he opened his eyes, he saw himself in an all-white world, with no exits in sight. Was this the afterlife?_

_"Not exactly, brother," a familiar voice said behind him, "More like a matrix of sorts."_

_Hordak turned his head to his brother. "Where are we? And how doesn't Prime know of this place?"_

_"We are in the blank space of the centered hivemind, created by our departed brothers eternities ago." His brother waved his hand, and several images showed. All of them displayed a group of clones, and within each group, one of the clones stood out by coloring them in red. "Eons before our births, the first group of rebellious clones had found each other and created this space for their meetings. Unlike you, their defects were more mental, to say the least."_

_Hordak was getting more confused by the minute. "What do you mean?"_

_His brother smiled softly. "When a clone enters a biological age, where their matured brain matches their grown body, they begin to develop independent thinking. They start to have their own memories, their own emotions... their own bonds."_

_An image of two clones was shown. While Hordak knows how all clones see each other as brothers, those two seemed to see each other as actual siblings. In the next scene, a clawed hand takes away one of the brothers, leaving the other to mourn—a lump formed in Hordak's throat._

_"And Prime always knows when that age comes, when the purification rituals stop working, and when it is time to send those clones to perish in the battlefields in disguise for glory. That is the main reason I am here. I know my end is near, and I wish to share everything I know before it comes."_

_Hordak's head was spinning. "But how were you able to get away with this for so long? How did Prime never find out? And how are we communicating even though I am no longer connected to the hivemind?"_

_The older clone chuckled. "One question at a time, brother." His expression turned serious again, and Hordak couldn't help but notice how even though they both have the same features, his brother had the looks of a senior. "I'll admit, the first patch of clones did not take the news of their defects well. They were destroyed with all the rituals they forced themselves to take. But as the centuries went by, we started to realize how this wasn't as abnormal as we originally thought. Most of the elder clones started to question their existence, and some started to enjoyed it. Slowly but surely, in each century, a dozen peers leave behind a message for the next group. Right now, you are talking to the twentieth generation of rebellious clones who took it upon themselves to be freed from Prime. Each generation built a small bug within the Velvet Glove, and now we can use it to communicate with you. As for your connection..."_

_The elder brother waved his hand, and the hivemind connection system appeared out of midair. The structure looked like electrical signals in the nervous system, which each clone being connected to the other. The elder brother pointed to the image of one of the clones, and Hordak gasped._

_"As you can see, you never properly disconnected yourself from us," the elder clone said as he showed Hordak where his place was. "One of our rebellious brothers noticed this little 'glitch' and covered it from Horde Prime. We've been hiding your existence for as long as we could, slowly sending you information from behind Prime's back. We were sure he would find out eventually, but apparently, he's not as all-knowing as he'd like us to believe." The clone chuckled to himself, almost as if the whole thing was just a joke, all while Hordak felt like he was going to vomit._

_"I still don't understand why you are doing this," Hordak said, feeling overwhelmed from everything in the last hour, "What even motivated you to begin rebelling? How were you even able to tell between right or wrong while I was still fooling myself into believing he loved me-"_

_"Do not dare to take this as a chance to ridicule yourself," the elder clone said with sudden rage and grabbed Hordak's shoulders in an oddly loving manner, "Do not even dare to think this way. You were outcasted into a shadow dimension with nothing but a broken ship and a broken heart. And we are not doing this because it is right. We're selfish—we don't care about the universe; we solely want to avenge our fallen brothers. And I believe it is time for you to return to your comrades."_

_"What?" Hordak asked in confusion, only to see how the matrix around them started to shatter. He gazed back to the elder brother in panic. "Tell your name. I refuse to let you go nameless from this world."_

_His brother looked at him in shock before a small smile was formed on his face. "Krytis," his brother calm sorrow, "I named myself Krytis."_

Hordak woke up with a start, only to get crushed by Entrapta in a fierce hug. His body ached uncomfortably in a way he hasn't felt in a long time, and he forced himself to remove Entrapta from his body. He only noticed then the archer who looked at him sheepishly.

"Hey there, Hordak," he said awkwardly, "How are you feeling?"

Hordak shifted slightly before wincing in discomfort. "Like my entire body despises me."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Entrapta said as she went to dig in her stash of machinery, eventually bringing out two metal arm paddings, "While you were asleep, I built these for you. They're not as effective as the previous ones, but they should lower your pain receptors."

Hordak connected the paddings to his arm ports, feeling some immediate relief. While it was not as effective, the new armor was at least lighter, allowing Hordak to move his arms more freely. The rest of the rebellion returned soon after, and Hordak requested of them to listen to his new information. There was some silence shortly afterward.

"Are you saying most of the clones we've been fighting are less than a decade old?" Queen Glimmer asked in concern.

"That means we've been fighting a bunch of kids!" exclaimed Princess Frosta.

Perfuma looked uncomfortable. "Can we even fight them now?"

"We have no choice but to fight them," Hordak said gruffly, "They might be victims as well, but they are persisting against us. The reason why I told you what I know wasn't for pity; it was for understanding. All I want is for my brother to face some mercy at your hands. And for me once I am forced to turn on you."

"Hordak," Adora said softly, "you're not going to betray us."

Hordak couldn't agree. "You heard what I told you. I am still in some way connected to the hivemind. Now I have to live with the burden, knowing that his influence will never leave me no matter what I do. I hope you'll never know this weight yourself."

The argument ended with Castaspella clapping her hands to get their attention, telling them how this is enough information for one day and how they all need some rest. Hordak noticed how Catra was mostly silent in the conversation, which was quite out of character for her. He thought this was simple tiredness from their day until Adora came inside with the cave with a backpack, scratch marks on her clothes with Melog and Catra nowhere to be seen. The tears in Adora's eyes was all the information Hordak needed.

_ Catra, what on earth did you do now? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! Hordak not being fully disconnected from the hivemind is symbolism to how just because you left a toxic environment, doesn't mean the toxicity was able to leave you


End file.
